Yakusoku Shitara
by le.etoile
Summary: *If You Promise* - Protect me if you want. Stay by my side if you wish. My only request is that you don't cry for me when I'm gone. Instead, smile in memory of me. IchiHime Royal Realm fanfic. Complete!
1. Prologue

A/N: Title idea from CrimsonDarkness. He thought out the 'yakusoku' part, and I added the 'shitara'. Enjoy!

**.disclaimer. Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite.**

---

"_She's… What?" His eyes bugged out of his head at this new revelation. Rukia nodded to him slowly, just as surprised as he was._

_Ichigo and Rukia had gathered at Orihime's apartment, along with Hitsugaya and Rangiku, as the Head Captain Yamamoto had requested it. He specifically requested those four, as they were assumed to be the ones closest to the auburn-haired healer._

_Ichigo swallowed thickly as he remembered the last time he'd been here, it was when Orihime was dubbed a traitor. The only difference was that Orihime was here, and she was currently sitting on a nearby chair. She looked at the floor ashamed, with glossy eyes and unshed tears._

"_Orihime Inoue is the Royal Key," Yamamoto's voice bellowed out, "and Aizen will want to get her back again, to gain her power." Ichigo couldn't help but feel his heart drop upon hearing that Aizen wanted her back. He shuddered at the thought. He'd never, ever, let her be forced away again. No matter how many lifetimes it took._

"_I'm not going to let Inoue get taken away again…" was Ichigo's response, "She's already been taken once, I'm not letting that sick bastard kidnap her again." Yamamoto only raised his eyebrows in response to the Substitute Shinigami's bold statement. His sudden, but repetitive assurance had only made him more curious if he was actually willing to take on __that__ task._

"_You're willing to stay by that promise, Ichigo Kurosaki?" He questioned, opening a single eye. Ichigo scowled at the head captain and his hands curled into a tight fist._

"_Inoue's my friend. I'll do whatever it takes to protect her," he pledged once more. Orihime's heart both fluttered, and dropped at the same time. She felt a brief feeling of happiness upon the fact that he'd protect her; that he cared for her wellbeing. But that happiness was soon overcome by the guilt and fear of being a burden to the one she loved._

"_Kurosaki-kun…" her voice barely squeaked out, and she could feel the tears threatening to fall. 'Are they tears of happiness? Or despair?' His scowl melted off his face as he looked at her for a short moment. He quickly resumed to look at the monstrosity of a screen positioned against the wall, also feeling guilt in his heart._

"_Then I'm going to assign you a very important task. This is one only you can do," the head captain spoke boldly to the group. "You must be willing to give your life if needed." Ichigo's scowl only returned, with twice as much anger imbedded in it._

"_I'm not taking any damn orders from you, even more so if I could die from it. Plus, you're the one who called Inoue a traitor."_

"_The task involves Orihime Inoue, and you told me you'd protect her at all costs," his voice lowered, now holding some anger as well. "You still wish to refuse?" Ichigo's body tensed up, and again, he swallowed thickly. There was no way he could refuse. He felt he __needed__ to protect her, even if it did mean giving up his life._

"_You are to watch Orihime Inoue for three days. Be her 'bodyguard', if you prefer the term," he started to explain the situation. "We will send a specific representative on our side to go see the Soul King, and we will determine what action should be taken after careful discussion." Ichigo's eyebrows raised, and Orihime hugged her body close. She had already been explained the situation, and to her, the choices were as bad as life or death._

"_What kind of action?" the tone in Ichigo's voice rose. Rukia stepped to his side, and touched his shoulder gently. As Orihime saw her do this, she couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous, even though she knew that those feelings tore her up inside._

"_Ichigo… In three days, there will be one out of two choices that'll be decided. The first is that the Royal Key will be extracted from her body," she spoke softly, starting to frown. "Unfortunately…"_

"_Unfortunately what?" _

_She paused before continuing. "Inoue most likely will lose her powers, since it's assumed that the Key is what's fueling most of her reiatsu. The worst it could get is that…" She paused hesitantly again, until Ichigo scowled harder at her, trying to get her to finish. _

"_The Key could be what's providing her life support entirely. If we removed it entirely, she could…" Rukia stopped, not wanting to finish completely. Yamamoto sighed and finished for her._

"_Orihime Inoue could potentially die." Ichigo's body tensed up, sending out a sharp spike in his reiatsu._

"_And you're just okay with Inoue possibly dying??" he yelled to the head captain, as Rukia sorrowfully stepped away from him. "We finally managed to get her back, and you're accepting the fact that her life is stable because of that damn Key?!-"_

"_Ichigo Kurosaki! Calm yourself," Yamamoto's voice yelled out over his. "That is merely one of the two choices the Soul King and Soul Society could make." He looked at him intensely before continuing. "The second choice, however, could be possibly worse for __you__. We will do what we think is necessary for the good of Soul Society."_

"_What's this damn second option?"_

"_Orihime Inoue will go to the Royal Realm and carry out her duties there." Ichigo felt a wave of relief wash over him. "But, you, nor anyone else, will be allowed to see her, ever again." The feeling of pain quickly returned, and that really set him off._

"_And you didn't ask Inoue about this??" he fumed, turning his gaze to her small body on the chair, which quickly made his anger subside. She was crying silently, still focusing her head on the floor. He barely heard her mutter, "I'm s-sorry Kurosaki-kun… I'm so sorry…" 'It wasn't her fault, dammit, why is she apologizing?'_

"_She knows her current position. Now, are you willing to take on the task?" Yamamoto's voice rang out throughout the crowded room, bringing Ichigo's attention back to the screen. "You will protect Orihime Inoue with your life, for three days, until a decision is made?" Ichigo's fist tightened up more, but he looked over to her once more. This time, her eyes met his, filled with hurt, sadness, and guilt._

"_Yes."_


	2. d0 Hitori Dake De

A/N: _For those who read, I'm looking for a reader! While I'm not looking for a beta, I am looking for someone to read my chapters before I post them, just to ensure they make sense, and aren't repetitive, etc. Message me if you're interested._ :D

_Sorry, I should have made this more clear, but there are only TWO choices: Have the Key extracted from her, or go to the Royal Realm. (The outcomes of the first choice could be two things: She could just lose her powers, or she could die entirely. Two different things, yes, but they are both related to the first reason.) There… I think I explained it better?_

_**.chapter title. **__All Alone  
_

_**.songs listened to for inspiration. **Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap, Whatcha Say - Jason Derulo, Halo - Beyonce  
_

_**.dedicated to. **My lovely wifey-sama, Copper, for helping me a ton with brainstorming angst ideas. :3 Love you wifey!  
_

_**.disclaimer. Bleach and co. belongs to Kubo Tite.**_

* * *

"_You will protect Orihime Inoue with your life, for three days, until a decision is made?" Ichigo's fist tightened up more, but he looked over to her once more. This time, her eyes met his, filled with hurt, sadness, and guilt._

"_Yes."_

_---  
_

Orihime was his friend, of course. He knew what he was getting into when he went to go rescue her from Hueco Mundo. But he didn't have any idea that _she_ was the Royal Key, and for some odd reason, it made him hurt inside; hurt with guilt.

'_Should I have protected her more? Would it have been best if I have tried to be better friends?_' A million questions ran through Ichigo's mind as the recalled the previous meeting at Orihime's house. He remembered her crying face when he found out her fate. At the time, he wanted pull her into an embrace, telling her everything would be all right, even though it might not be.

Ichigo sighed heavily as he packed his clothes into a small duffel bag. He didn't mind watching Orihime, to keep an eye on her so she didn't get hurt. Of course she was an important friend, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

But part of him wanted time to stop. He wanted to time to stop, so he didn't have to deal with all this, and so he wouldn't have to quite possibly watch her go; watch her leave in front of his eyes again, as he idly sat by and do nothing.

Because in three days, she was going to either leave, or possibly die. Pain flashed across Ichigo's eyes as he thought of the dreaded options. The options she had no say in. She was being used by Soul Society, and she had no say.

He sighed once more, zipping up the duffel bag and hoisting the strap over his shoulder. His eyes hovered as he took a final look around his room.

'_Things will be entirely different when I come back_…' He thought bitterly, forcing himself to exit the room. He turned off the lights and soon closed the door behind him. He didn't say anything to his family as he left; he'd explain once he got back. He was just requested to go back to her place as quick as he could.

But he wasn't sure if he wanted to take his time getting there, or hurry to see her.

Orihime sighed lightly as she looked out the window, her hot breath fogging up the cold window. Her eyes were swollen from crying so much.

She _had_ tried her best to hold in those dreaded tears when he was over, but he eyes appeared to be yelling out in hurt as he looked at her, and she knew it was all her fault. But once everyone left, she couldn't help but cry her heart out. She had felt weak doing it, but she couldn't stop them. She closed her eyes, her tears reappearing and clinging to her lashes.

---

"_You are to stay with Orihime Inoue until the decision is made," Yamamoto's voice spoke to the orange-haired shinigami, "It is to ensure that she is watched at all times."_

"_Why couldn't Inoue just stay with me and my family, at my house?" Ichigo scowled, grinding his teeth in his failing attempt to hold in his anger._

"_She must be kept from any other people until the choice is decided." His scowl grew deeper as he heard the head captain say she pretty much had to be in isolation._

"_What about school?? You can't expect her to just not go!" Ichigo yelled out, as Captain Hitsugaya stepped out to his side. _

"_The paperwork has already been taken care of. You and Inoue-san have been allowed a three day excused absence at your school." He explained casually, no emotion showing in his voice._

"_So you're basically placing her under house arrest?" _

"_If you're going by the definition of house arrest, then yes," Hitsugaya responded coolly. Rangiku stepped forward as well and put on a smile._

"_We'll be over occasionally to check on her… And you as well," she spoke with a grin on her face, "So you won't be stuck here forever with no company."_

'_Much help that is…'_

"_Don't leave her place, Ichigo Kurosaki, unless it is of the most importance. If you must, you are to escort her around at all times," Yamamoto spoke his final words before disappearing off the screen. The room stayed silent until Ichigo looked at Orihime again, watching her tears fall down her face._

"_Inoue…" She looked up at the sound of his voice, "I'm sorry Inoue…" He tried apologizing to her, but she just shook her head and forced a smile for him._

"_N-No, don't apologize… It's all right…"_

_---  
_

Though she knew in her heart that it wasn't okay. She was going to meet her fate in three days, and she couldn't do anything but accept it.

"At least I can spend those days with Kurosaki-kun," Orihime mumbled out, her voice sounding dry from crying so much. A light blush crawled up her cheeks.

Yes, she was happy that she'd be with the one she loved the most, but she felt guilt in her heart for being a burden to him. To waste his time on something so meaningless as "watching her".

His soft footsteps took her out of her thoughts, and she quickly wiped the escaped tears from her face. She then turned to face Ichigo, and forced a smile at the man who had been in her home for a few hours already.

"Inoue, I've already got my stuff where it should be…" he started to speak to her, but thought something seemed off. "Is everything all right?" Orihime just looked at him confused, as he mentally slapped himself for asking _that_ question. '_Of course she isn't all right! Why am I asking such a stupid thing?_'

She nodded. "I'm fine… You don't need to worry about me Kurosaki-kun! I'm perfectly okay!" She smiled for him, trying to hide the worry in her voice. He didn't believe her, and his usual scowl reappeared on his face.

"Inoue, I-" Ichigo started to speak to her, but he cut himself off, before muttering a 'sorry', and briskly leaving the room. Orihime stared at his back as she watched him leave, feeling the tears well up once again. She was left alone, to be by herself in her own countdown of the decision of her lifetime.

She turned her attention back to the window, now seeing a light snow falling outside. It reminded her of the rain she loved so much.

'_Can't the rain connect my heart?_' She thought of how distant he seemed to be towards her, from the moment he entered the room, to the time he left_. 'Why can't I connect my heart with Kurosaki-kun's?_' Her breath fogged up the glass again, and she started to draw circles on the window with her finger, her heart hurting significantly.

'_No, it's probably… Rather, it's for the best, if Kurosaki-kun ignores me_,' she thought tiredly. '_I can't allow myself to be attached to him so much._' She stood up slowly from her seat, continuing to stare out the window. Touching the glass one last time, she took in a last deep breath and soon went to her room. Sitting down at the all-familiar table and opening her notebook, she unhurriedly wrote the words she always kept close in her heart and mind.

_And if it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart, the only dream that mattered had come true. In this life, I loved you.  
_

_Kurosaki-kun… Thank you._

Her fingers lingered over his name, a light blushed spread across her cheeks. She took a moment to stare at the paper, before standing up and turning off her light. She then curled up into her futon, despite still being dressed in her normal clothes. The plethora of thoughts was what lulled her into a deep sleep, and she would not awake until the morning.

* * *

_A/N: Yeeaah, sorry it's so short, but I was stuck on what to write, and I kinda wanted to get through this part. XD Please tell me if you're confused at all! I'll try my best to answer them! I'll also hopefully write some longer chapters here, once I figure out those darn ideas that were lost in my brain last me, I do want to write long, looooong chapters, but I keep getting stuck in a hole._

_Also, the quote Orihime referenced is by a man named Colin Raye. _


	3. dI Kesshin Shimasu

A/N: O. M. G., this chapter took SOOOO freaking long. XD I'm so glad to have it done though... (Now it can be out of my hands while I catch up on a week's worth of missed homework, sets for people, doujins, etc... Sigh, SO MUCH!) DX Anywho, you are all in luck, because I've made my goal to write every chapter at 7,000 for sure. :D Whether it's more than that or not, I don't know(though it's probably unlikely, cuz it's just soooo many words...). Yeah.... XD Anywho, Thank you to those who have reviewed my first few chapters! Also, HUGE thanks to my wifey, **copperheadfightingninja**, who beta'd my story, helped me with a bazillion ideas(also, making sure Ichigo isn't out of character by yelling, "BANZAI! I love you Inoue!!" XD Jk.), and yeah... Thanks for just being awesome, copper. XD Blah, I'll stop now so you can read. Enjoy!

_Chapter title: Resolve_

* * *

--

A small ray of sunlight shone through the curtain, a small beam hitting part of Ichigo's face. His eyes gazed at the ceiling with various thoughts running through his head. He didn't sleep very well and now fatigue was catching up with him.

He sighed heavily, unsure of what to do. '_I'm supposed to watch and protect Inoue, but I don't know what to do or say_,' Ichigo thought to himself, letting his eyelids close slowly, still fighting back his sleepiness. '_This sucks…_' He rolled onto his side, still keeping his eyes closed. '_I can never protect her right… Damn, what am I_-' Ichigo's mind wandered, until he heard clangs and bangs coming from somewhere on the other side of the door, which caused him to raise his head in confusion. He glanced over to the clock on the wall, to find that it was still very early, even for Orihime to be up.

Sighing once more, he forced his tired body to sit up and go investigate what the noise was. After slowly, but surely, dressing himself, he left the room he was staying in and wandered the halls, to eventually find a familiar auburn-haired teenager in the kitchen, quietly humming to herself. He couldn't help but feel at ease and his lips curved into a small smile.

"Morning Inoue… You're up early," his scratchy voice called out to her, interrupting her faint tune. She turned around and gave him a tired smile.

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun! I hope I didn't wake you up, I accidentally dropped a few pans…" She apologized, turning around to resume to her cooking.

"No, it's fine, I was kinda awake anyway," he told her, sitting down at the small table in her tiny kitchen. "But why were you awake? It's still really early." He glanced at a second clock in the area he was in. '_Seriously… It's only 5:43…_'

There was a long, hesitated pause before she started to speak, and Ichigo couldn't help but notice the sudden tension in the air around her during that time. "I just thought I'd make breakfast, is all…" Orihime replied, her voiced sounding slightly strained. "Since you're company." She turned around again, giving him a bigger smile than before. He couldn't help but think of how silly she looked while holding such a big pan. Cute too. Ichigo's eyes went big at his own thoughts. '_C-Cute? Dammit, what am I thinking?_' He quickly suppressed the slowly creeping blush on his face.

He leaned his cheek in his right palm and watched her work, listening to her humming from before. He watched the way she moved from one place to another and noticed small things he never saw before. He watched how her eyebrows furrowed slightly when she was finding something difficult, or how she stuck out her tongue when she determined to get something done.

And he noticed just how oddly right it felt to be here, with her. To be by her side and her shining face being the first thing he saw in the morning. Again, his eyes grew wide as he realized what he was actually thinking, this time, however, he didn't turn red from his thoughts. His eyebrows grew angled and his mouth arched to a deep scowl.

'What the hell?… I don't deserve to be around her, so I shouldn't be thinking it's okay… Because it's not.'

"Wow, that's a big scowl you have on, Kurosaki-kun," her lighthearted laugh brought him out of his thoughts. She set a plate of food in front of him, flashing him another one of her supernova smiles. He gave her a small smile in return, but felt his heart drop as he wondered how she could be so carefree with her fate being decided in less than 72 hours. He quickly diverted his attention to the food, which regrettably caused his stomach to do a flip.

"Uh… What's exactly in this, Inoue?" he spoke, pointing to his food nervously.

"It's just normal eggs and pancakes," she started to laugh, "Tatsuki-chan bought me a cookbook a while back, telling me I needed to make normal food for once." She picked up her fork and lightly pushed her food around her plate. "Since you're here, I thought I'd try it for you."

Ichigo just stared at her, trying to figure out something, no, anything not stupid, to respond with, along with trying to keep that creeping blush from showing up again. "Oh… Cool…" He hardened his gaze on his scrambled eggs, mentally beating himself up for coming up with such a lame reply. _'Cool?? Is that all I can come up with?'_

"So, what do you plan on doing…?" Orihime asked, her tone now very quiet, not as cheerful sounding as it previously was. Ichigo looked up from his food, to her serene face. She kept a small smile on her face, despite the way she was feeling. "I mean, there's not much to do around here, for one, and you don't need to bother yourself by watching me… I know Soul Society forced you to do it anyway…"

He swallowed thickly; letting his mind wander again and allowing silence consume them both. _'It's not just because Soul Society told me to… I need to watch her… I owe it to her, for everything that's happened.'_ He took another bite, chewing slowly. He tried to suppress the feeling that he also wanted to spend these last three days with her, mentally telling himself it wasn't right to think such things.

"I dunno…" was all he could mutter, "what do you want to do?" Orihime's eyes got big at the question, holding confusion at the same time. He wanted to chuckle at the face she was making, but he knew it wasn't the right time to laugh and he continued on.

"You've only got three days… Right?" He asked her somewhat painfully, in which she averted her gaze back to table and nodded. "Then… I'm going to make sure you do everything you've always wanted to do," Ichigo told her, feeling a newfound determination. A determination to make her the happiest she'd ever be.

Orihime's eyes wandered back to his, seeing burning resolve in his chocolate brown eyes. Her heart lightly jumped as she saw him so resolute.

'_Kurosaki-kun knows what he wants to do… Why can't I do the same?'_ Her gaze softened hurtfully but she gave him a small smile and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Thank you."

--

"Wah, sorry for the wait, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime quickly apologized as she stumbled down the hall. She was trying to put her hair into a ponytail, the ends of her hairpins in her mouth.

"It's fine, Inoue," Ichigo responded, trying to reassure her. "Here, let me hold those for you..." His hands reached dangerously close to her mouth, to take the hairpins from her. Orihime's eyes grew big at the close proximity of his fingers to her lips. Her heart raced and her cheeks sported a dark shade of red. He grasped the ends of her hairpins and took them from her mouth. He held them up, a diluted smile on his face. "Now you can put your hair up without worrying about these." Orihime couldn't help but stare at him, completely embarrassed at what just happened. Ichigo took note of her gaze and crimson-brushed cheeks and started to turn red himself, with a scowl replacing his smile. "What…?"

"N-Nothing… Thank you, Kurosaki-kun," she spoke quietly, giving him a nervous smile and continued putting her hair up. "What are you dressed up for?" Orihime inquired, noticing his winter jacket he had on.

"I thought we'd wander around town or something…" he replied, fiddling around with her hairpins, looking at them curiously. "There's only so much we can do inside."

"But, they said we can't go outside!" Orihime protested, finishing putting her hair up. He raised his eyebrows at her sudden rise in volume. "Er, I mean… I just don't want to get you in trouble…" His scowl melted again and he handed her the hairpins back.

"Screw what Soul Society says, we'll do whatever the hell we want," Ichigo spoke in an irritated tone. She noticed lingering warmth on her hairpins, from when they were in his hand and her face flushed a bit more. He watched her put her hairpins in and continued, "And you shouldn't worry, Inoue. I'm here to protect you, so nothing bad will happen." She couldn't help but feel her heart fall at his statement.

' _Yeah… He's only here to make sure I don't do anything that causes myself damage_.' She bit her bottom lip. '_Because harm to me is harm to the key…_' She finished putting her hairpins and gave him a forced smile. "Let me just get my coat and I'll be right back." Ichigo nodded in understanding, sliding his hands into his pockets as he waited for her.

As she maneuvered back to into the hall and towards the closet that held her coat, she couldn't help but feel hurt_. 'I have no reason to feel this way… Why do I have to think like this when Kurosaki-kun is here?'_ She bit her lip again, opening the closet and retrieved her coat and a scarf that hung with it. Hastily slipping it on, and hurrying back to her orange-haired shinigami friend, she feigned another smile.

"Ready!" she faked a new mood, just for him. After all, the last thing she did was wanted to burden him more than she already was and cause him to worry. He furrowed his eyes, feeling more concerned than he was before.

'_Was I thinking wrong that she should be really sad about all this…?_' Ichigo quickly shook off his thoughts and turned to open the door. A cold blast of air hit them both and Orihime shuddered involuntarily.

"Brrrr, it's cold! Isn't it, Kurosaki-kun?" she laughed lightly, pulling up her scarf further, covering more of her face. His scowl faded again, a weak smile now tugging at the corner of his lips. Ichigo chuckled lightly and started to walk out the door.

"I guess it kinda is…" he replied, a tone of relief hidden in his voice. They started to descend the steps from her apartment when he realized something. "Inoue, did you lock the door to your apartment…?" Her eyes showed confusion at his 'strange' question.

"Lock the door?" Orihime paused, trying to think of what he meant. "Oh!! Lock the door! Right!" She quickly turned around and went back up the stairs, to pull out a small key and lock the door, as he requested. Ichigo looked at her intensely.

"Please tell me that you don't _always_ forget to lock your door…"

"Eh? Oh… Um, now that I think about it… I kinda do," she responded, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "Whoops." Ichigo brought up his hand to his face, and as he did so, resulted in a loud 'slap' sound. She jumped back at his sudden action. "Kurosaki-kun, is something wrong?" He sighed heavily before speaking.

"Inoue… You need to lock your door when you're home, and when you're out. What if someone came in when you were home alone? Or if a stranger came in when you were away, and took something important to you?" Ichigo asked her in a frustrated tone. '_Damn, there's so much that could've happened to her! She needs to watch what she's doing_.' He heard a small 'sorry' come from her as she averted her gaze to the ground, the tension around the two rising. '_S-Shit, why did I have to go say something like that?'_

"Sorry Kurosaki-kun… I'm just forgetful sometimes…" She quietly apologized again. _'More like all the time…'_ Orihime mentally added in her head. She just heard a heavy groan come from the man standing in front of her.

"It's fine Inoue… You just have to be careful. I worry about you, you know…" He told her, still bewildered as to how she can constantly forget to lock her door. Her face heated up and she looked at him with big eyes.

"W-What did you say?"

"I worry about… You?" He spoke hesitantly, now realizing what he had just said and his face started burning up. He hastily turned around and started walking ahead of her. "Damn…" Ichigo quietly muttered under his breath. "Let's go."

"Eh? W-Wait for me Kurosaki-kun!" the auburn-haired healer immediately started followed him but missed the last step of the staircase, resulting in a big fall. "O-Oww…" He stopped, hearing her cries of pain, and spun around to see her current situation. His scowl soon appeared on his face, and he gave another heavy sigh. '_This is not my morning…'_

"Inoue… You _need_ to be more careful," Ichigo lightly scolded her, offering his hand to help her up. She looked up to him hesitantly, not taking it at first.

"Because I'm the Key… Right?" she asked with a tinge of sorrow in her voice. Ichigo, who was taken aback by her sudden question, couldn't respond. He just shoved his hand closer to her, motioning that she should take it.

Orihime skeptically grasped his hand and he slowly helped her up. It was as if time was slowing down, as she felt his rough, callused hand holding hers_. 'I wish I could stay like this forever…'_ she thought as everything around her slowed. The warmth alone from his hold made her heart flutter in delight. She gazed up to him, and saw his fiery brown eyes staring back at her, which caused her heart to beat even faster and snap out of her trance.

"S-Sorry… Thank you, Kurosaki-kun…" the healer apologized, taking her hand out of his. She was sure her face was as red as a strawberry now. In a daze, she curled her fingers into a fist, thinking about his lingering warmth still in her palm. Ichigo scratched the back of his neck, unconsciously flexing his opposite hand as well.

"Just watch where you're walking… Alright?" Ichigo told her, trying to keep his composure as he continually remembered her small, soft hand, taking his. _'Damn… Why did it feel so right for her to take my hand like that? And the way she looked at me…' _He felt his own heart skip a beat as he pondered what her look could possibly mean.

"Okay, sorry, Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime apologized quietly, following him from behind. An uncomfortable silence consumed them both, as they were both lost in their thoughts_. 'Damn… Gotta think of something to say…'_ He struggled to come up with a topic, until he realized they were just wandering around.

"Inoue," he started, turning around abruptly. She jumped back in surprise, her eyes wide from being startled. "Sorry… But where are we going?"

"Huh?" she asked, confused. "I thought you were leading…" She pulled up her scarf, hiding her face. She couldn't tell if her cheeks were burning from embarrassment or from the cold.

"We're doing what you want to do, remember?"

"Oh… Right…" She replied in a muffled tone, trying to keep her face warm and rub her hands together at the same time. The cold was really getting to her.

"Want to sit down while you decide?" Ichigo offered, pointing to a nearby café in the direction they were heading. After squinting her eyes to see what he was pointing to, she gave him a quick smile and nodded.

Again, a cessation of sound kept the two teens quiet as they walked along the snowy street. Orihime was busy thinking to herself.

Ever since she found out about being the Royal Key, it was as if her brain couldn't shut off. It was like she was unconsciously trying to think out every last thought she could before she met her fate; this included during the night as well. Like Ichigo, she hadn't slept very well; waking up often with a new thought in her head, usually more frightening in idea than her last. She yawned lightly as they walked, as remembering her lack of good sleep made her tired. '_I can't show that I'm tired or worried about anything… It'll only concern Kurosaki-kun.' _She tried to suppress another yawn, but to no avail, she let out a bigger yawn than before. As her eyes closed slightly, she accidentally bumped into a larger body, which had stopped in front of her.

"We're here," Ichigo mumbled, pointing to the shop again. Her lips curved into a small smile, but it was forced, as her mind was wandering to less pleasant subjects again. She gave him a nod and walked in ahead into the café, where a rush of warm air met her body. Her face heated up as she compared the warmth of Ichigo's hand to the temperature of the room. _'Better…_' She thought nervously, her pros of his hand outweighing the cons_. 'Definitely much better…'_ She took a seat at a small table in the middle of the café, motioning to Ichigo to sit at the same table.

"Inoue, did you want something to drink while you think?" Ichigo offered to her, before sitting down. _'No reason to sit down if I'm just going to get up again…' _She looked at him confused at first.

"Eh? Oh, no Kurosaki-kun, it's alright, I'm fine," she tried explaining to him, but her body spoke differently and shuddered involuntarily, still adjusting to the new temperature. He raised his eyebrows, noticing this action of hers. Orihime blushed, inwardly scolding her body for doing that to her. "Um, hot chocolate please?" He nodded, leaving to go get the hot drinks. She sighed lightly and started to draw imaginary circles on the table.

'_I feel so embarrassed… I've acted nothing but silly or stupid in front of Kurosaki-kun. First it was the door, then it was falling down the stairs, and now it's not deciding what I want…' _her thoughts stretched out again, leaving her more and more rueful, as well as confused. Even though she was alone, she shook her head, trying to free her head from those thoughts again. _'No, I need to think of what I want to do today! Otherwise Kurosaki-kun will only worry...Although… Just spending the day with him is enough for me,_' she blushed heavily_. 'But there's no way I can tell him that… It's almost like we're on a date, Kurosaki-kun will surely-'_ Orihime cut off her own thoughts again, her face now on fire at just the mention of 'date'. She buried her face in her hands in embarrassment.

"Inoue?" Ichigo's voice broke her thinking, startling her and causing her to jump in her seat.

"O-Oh, hello Kurosaki-kun! Back already?" Orihime spoke, trying to keep her stuttering down to a minimum. It wasn't working so well though. He set the drink down in front of her.

"Yeah, the line wasn't too bad," he replied, taking a sip from his own. "Have you thought at all about what you want to do?"

'_Spending the day with you is enough for me…' _she thought again, swallowing thickly as she tried to force that embarrassing conviction out of her head.

"Oh, sorta… I really wouldn't mind just wandering around, to be honest," she told him, giving him a soft smile. _'As long as I'm with you, I'll be happy…'_ she mentally finished, as her cheeks grew hot again.

"Okay then… We'll just go wherever then?" Ichigo asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck again. Orihime gave him a definite nod and took a drink of her hot chocolate. Her eyes went big at the taste.

"Wow, this is so good!!" she gave out an excited cry, quickly taking another sip. Ichigo couldn't help but crack a smile at her silly reaction to the drink.

"That great?"

"Yes!! It's delicious!" Orihime exclaimed, cradling the cup in her hands. "Thank you Kurosaki-kun!" she gave him a warm-hearted smile, which caused his heart to skip a beat. _'Damn… She's being cute again…' _His eyes grew big at his own thoughts. He did it again; he thought she was cute_. 'Dammit!'_ She took note of his… Interesting facial expression. His fierce scowl, furrowed eyebrows, and rapidly increasing amount of blush in his cheeks.

"Something wrong, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked him curiously, now putting on a cute pout, which caused his face to only turn redder.

He inaudibly mouthed a "No," as he tightly gripped the cup in his hand. Her face fell, as he refused to tell her what was really bugging him. Orihime looked at the table half-heartedly, now absorbed into her thoughts once more.

'_This isn't right… Who knows what's going to happen… I can't let myself get so attached…'_ Ichigo thought, silently telling himself reasons not to make her hurt more by being with him_. 'But I just can't leave her alone… She's my friend…'_

Her eyes hovered back up to look at his hunched form, frowning lightly in the process. "Sorry…" she quietly mumbled to him. Ichigo snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at her, a confused expression etched onto his face.

"For what?"

Orihime didn't respond. Her heart couldn't decide whether it wanted to beat fast at his gaze connecting with hers, or it wanted to fall at all the pain and frustration she was probably causing him.

'_Everything_…'

--

Orihime now walked ahead of him, lightly humming the same tune from earlier that morning. He walked at a leisurely pace behind her; slightly relaxing at the soft melody she quietly voiced. Like he did earlier that morning, Ichigo just watched her, how she moved, her actions and reactions. Never had he found her so fascinating before. He knew she was a good person, with beauty inside and out but the small things she did seriously interested him. It was only until he was very intrigued and intensely watching her, that he realized what he was doing and turned a dark red, shutting himself, and his hollow, up from their thoughts.

She couldn't see him directly all the time, but most of the time, she could feel his hard gaze, just watching her. There had been plenty of times she wanted to turn around and ask if something was up, but she knew it would only result in embarrassment for them both. So instead, she continued to walk along, him following in pursuit, with a heavy stare at her backside. Her cheeks grew warm as she repeatedly hummed the tune from earlier.

"Kurosaki-kun, let's go in here!" Orihime spoke, breaking her quiet tune and pointing to the donut shop on her left. He snapped out of his thoughts, which were more or less caused by his staring again and tried to force the creeping blush to go away.

"Oh, you're still hungry, Inoue?" Ichigo asked, somewhat surprised. She had eaten a somewhat large breakfast, later followed by an entire cup of hot chocolate. Her eyes widened slightly, now realizing what she had said._ 'Now Kurosaki-kun probably thinks I'm a pig! I'm so stupid for saying I wanted to eat more.' _At the same time, her stomach gave a small growl in protest to remaining hunger, which caused her to flush bright red; He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her embarrassment.

"I'll take that as a yes," he assumed, starting to walk towards the small shop.

"Eh? B-But Kurosaki-kun, I'm fine!" Orihime tried explaining to him, only to have her stomach growl again. He suppressed another laugh, and took her hand, leading her into the store. She thought she couldn't think straight before but when he grabbed her hand, just like earlier, everything slowed down. Besides blushing at his warm hand, she stared at the back of his orange head, wondering what was running through his mind.

"Oi, Inoue, what do you want to eat?" She heard his voice, snapping out of her daze. She looked toward him, her face burning up and a confused expression nicely placed on her features.

"H-Huh?" She questioned, thinking she probably sounded like a fool. Ichigo sighed lightly, pointing to the display case with his opposite hand.

"What do you want to eat?" He asked again. She still couldn't focus on what he was saying, due to the still warmth present in her left hand.

"U-Um, I…" Orihime stuttered with her lack of focus because of his large hand, still grasping her small one. She wondered if he didn't realize that he was still holding on. "K-Kurosaki-kun?" He raised his eyebrows, connecting his eyes with hers. He was clearly confused.

"What is it Inoue?"

"H-Ha-Han-" She stuttered, her face growing hotter, if possible, by the second. He only looked at her more bewildered, obviously not understanding what she was trying to say_. 'M-Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't say anything… But then that would be wrong to take advantage of Kurosaki-kun…'_ Her mind raced between the two ideas; of whether to let go or keep holding on.

"Hi, welcome to Mr. Donut! What can I get for you?" The counter-lady asked, snapping out of her thoughts. Orihime put on a smile for the worker, temporarily forgetting about her hand dilemma to order her food.

"Hello, I'd like to get… Hm…" she pondered over the delicious treats. _'If I wanted to do _that_, now's the best time to do it…' _She boldly decided before looking back up to the lady. Orihime put on another smile, feeling butterflies in her stomach at her bold idea.

"One of everything please!"

Both Ichigo and the lady's eyes bugged out at her sudden appetite for donuts. "E-Excuse me? she asked, making sure she heard right.

"May I please get one of everything?" Orihime asked again, pointing to the display case with a smile on her face. "It all looks so delicious!"

"Inoue… Are you sure you'll eat it all?" Ichigo asked wearily, his eyes still wide. She turned to him and gave him a smile, her lashes lowered, covering up part of her eyes.

"Even if I don't eat it all now, I'll eat it eventually-" she spoke to him a small voice, but paused, realizing _eventually_ now had a time limit. Her gaze fell to the floor, but she still kept the smile on her face, though it changed to a small, fragile one. She felt if she smiled any bigger, tears would start streaming down her face again. "I mean, I'll eat them before all this is over…" she slowly finished her sentence. Orihime felt his hand tense up at what she said, as it was still unknowingly held in hers. She returned her gaze back to the worker.

"Please," was all she said. Reluctantly, with raised eyebrows, the counter-lady began to fill a large bag with one of every donut, looking back to Orihime every time she put a pastry in, a bewildered look on her face.

"Are you and your boyfriend going to share them together?" she lightly teased, still feeling astonished about the large request of donuts. Orihime felt a light blush crawl up her face, as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, the orange-haired kid you're holding hands with," she replied, pointing her tongs at the two, before resuming her bagging. "Aren't you two dating?"

"What? I'm not her boyfriend!" Ichigo told her a little too quickly, turning red himself. He quickly released his hand from hers, upon realizing they were still linked. "Er, I mean… W-We're not…" He spoke with a stutter, feeling very embarrassed.

"Really? You two look so cute together though," she continued on, finishing putting the donuts in the bag. "Your total is 2,762.70 yen." Orihime nodded and paid for her food, still forcing the small smile.

"Thank you," she spoke in a quiet voice, "but we're not dating." She took the bag of food from the lady. "Right Kurosaki-kun?" She locked eyes with him, giving an even larger, forced smile, with feeling the tears stinging at the corner of her eyes. _'Why do I want to cry? It's no big deal, it's just the truth… I'm being so stupid…' _was the thought that ran through her head as she looked at him. Ichigo was a bit taken back by her question. He knew it was the truth, that they weren't dating, but there was something in her smile, the look in her eyes, which just didn't sit well with him.

"Uh, right…" was all he could say, in which, again, he cursed himself for giving such a bad response. Orihime gave the worker one last thanks, and she proceed to exit the store, whether Ichigo was in pursuit or not.

"You are to stay with Orihime Inoue until the decision is made. It is to ensure that she is watched at all times."

Ichigo silently swore to himself, now turning to follow his healer friend. He remembered vaguely seeing a pained feeling in her eyes and was at times like this that he wondered if she did want to be alone. But thinking that made him erupted an inner battle. He couldn't just leave her alone, and that wasn't because of what Soul Society said; he could care less about them. When it came to the person herself, he wanted to give her space, if she requested it but he also knew what it was like to be alone. He knew it hurt a lot.

Orihime sighed to herself, knowing she was walking a few paces ahead of her shinigami friend. "And if it all falls apart…" she quietly muttered to herself, rethinking the same words from the previous night_. 'It's okay… It'll all be okay…'_ she silently thought, forcing those tears to remain where they were. _'Now is not the time to be sad…_' In her eyes and not on her face.

"Inoue, wait!" she heard the familiar voice call out for her. She stopped hesitantly, remembering how he yelled those same words not so long ago, from the place that caused their current predicament. She shuddered involuntarily as memories of Hueco Mundo, Aizen, Arrancar and Ichigo all came flooding back to her mind. Her grip on the handle of her bag unconsciously tightened and her knuckles started to turn white.

She slowly turned around to face him, who sported a confused look on his face. "Sorry, Kurosaki-kun, I was just so deep in thought, I didn't hear you," Orihime flashed another smile, explaining herself to him, while partially telling him the truth. She knew there was no way she could turn around and face him before, when first leaving the bakery, knowing there was such a sad expression obvious on her face.

Ichigo just looked at her with soft eyes, but Orihime couldn't help but notice a quick flash of emotion in them. It looked like, possibly pain, sadness… Pity? Her smile faded a bit_. 'Kurosaki-kun… Please don't look at me like that.'_ She could never say that out loud though.

Still, he said nothing. She smiled one last time before turning around to have her back facing him. She couldn't stand to see his face showing so many emotions and not even bother wanting to say anything. Not like she was one to talk. Orihime knew she could be an open book at times and she'd still deny anything was wrong, just to avoid burdening others.

"Where do you want to go next, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked him in the most normal tone she could muster, trying to calm herself.

"I thought we were doing what you wanted to do," Ichigo spoke. She could tell his voice was strained as he talked and she wondered if it was because she was being burdensome again.

"It doesn't matter…"

"It does matter."

She remained silent for a few moments, repeating his last phrase in her head_. 'Why? How does it matter…?'_ Orihime thought bitterly to herself. _'Everything and anything we do will be meaningless in a few days…_' She swallowed thickly, forcing the painful butterflies in her stomach to go away.

"Can we go to that store next, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked him, continuing to face away but she merely pointed at a store just a few blocks away from where they were. To Ichigo, it appeared to be a small jewelry store.

"Jewelry?" He asked, his voice forced. She nodded, despite still facing away from him.

"Yup! There was one last thing that I wanted to get, then we can go back to my place," she replied, starting to walk ahead. "Plus I know the person who owns the store, so I want to say hello to her as well."

Ichigo, realizing that she was gaining distance between them, quickly hurried to catch up to her and walk by her side. "Are you sure that's all you want to do?" He asked her. He figured there must be so many other things she wanted to do. Why hadn't she said anything else?

"Yup… That's all."

"You're not serious," Ichigo spoke, his tone in a harsher tone than he intended. Orihime turned around and looked to him with raised eyebrows at his sudden raise in tone. She smiled and laughed lightly before continuing.

"I'm very serious, Kurosaki-kun. Sure, I have lots of things I want to do, but three days isn't enough time to do it," she explained to him, giving him a small smile. "So I'm just doing the things I know I can do, before the decision is made." Ichigo tensed up at the remembrance of the Soul Society's and the Soul King's "decision".

"Like what?" He inquired_. 'Now that I think about it, I really don't know much about Inoue…'_ He scowled at his realizations. _'I've really haven't had the time to get to know her though… No, I could've taken the chance, I just never did.'_ Ichigo thought sourly.

As Ichigo pondered about his own thoughts, Orihime's mind was wandering just the same, although on an entirely different wavelength. Her cheeks grew hot as she remembered her exact words, of how she told him her hopes and dreams. The words she spoke to him on the night she left for Hueco Mundo. Maybe she could use them now. After all, they were still the same dreams as before.

"I had a lot of things I wanted to do. I want to be a teacher, but I also want to be an astronaut... And also have my own cake shop..." Orihime felt her heartbeat quicken at her close repeat of her confession of that night_. 'Too bad he'll never know I've told him this before…'_ he stopped for a moment, a surprised look on his face.

"Was going to Mr. Donut and ordering one of everything part of that too?" He inquired, as she looked to him, giving him a smile, also a bit confused how he came up with the question he did.

"It was! I wanted to go to Baskin Robbins and order one of everything there too, but since it's Winter, ice cream might not be the best idea…" she spoke, pouting playfully. She resumed walking, as they were almost to the store. Ichigo was left somewhat behind again, immersing himself in his own thoughts, but again, it didn't take him long to catch up with her. Orihime started to swing her bag lightly with her right hand, while using the other to pull up her scarf in attempt to hide her growing blush.

She sighed, a puff of white air appearing in front of her. "If only I had five lifetimes to do it all!" Her mouth now curved up into a smile. "I think it would be so cool… I could be born in five different towns, eat five lifetimes worth of food, being different every time, and I could have five different jobs." Her heart hammered against her chest as she stopped walking, now in front of the store. Her face was very flushed, but she hoped that he would just guess it was from the cold air. "W-What do you think, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, trying to hide her embarrassment as much as she could. _'There's no way I can tell him the last part of that though…'_

Ichigo stood next to her, bemused by her speech. But there it was again; that uneasy feeling in his stomach, the one that didn't feel right. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"H-Honestly…? I can't help but feel like you've told me that before," he told her, not wanting to lie, but trying to hide his apprehensiveness about it all. "Did you maybe say that to me already?" Orihime's heart about jumped from her chest upon him asking. How he felt like it was familiar, she didn't want to answer, but she thought of a better, but more silent way to explain.

Instead of becoming flustered and hiding her face from embarrassment, she gave him a big smile. Ichigo couldn't help but feel his face heat up at her radiant smile, rosy cheeks and deep gray eyes. _'God, not the cute thing again…'_

She quickly turned towards the door and entered the store. Ichigo's eyes grew wide at her silent answer, unfathomed at the fact she was no longer standing in front of him. His face grew hotter as he tried to comprehend her unsaid answer, until he realized he was left alone for the third time again, which he had to get back to her side once more.

He quickly and followed her path into the small store, in which he found her chatting to an elderly lady at the counter. He looked over to the two, and noticed Orihime had a bright smile on her face. It was one of those 'real' smiles he'd been missing from her. His lips cracked up at a tiny smile of his own, and he shoved his hands into his pockets and joined Orihime at her side, who gave him another smile.

"Ah, Yuuka-san, this is Ichigo Kurosaki-kun," Orihime introduced the elderly lady to him. She felt her face growing hotter as she said his first name. She knew it was just an introduction but it was the first time she'd said his first name in general. She silently urged the butterflies in her stomach to calm down, but it was to no avail. "Kurosaki-kun, this is Yuuka Satou-san."

"So you're Kurosaki-kun?" Yuuka spoke, a joking tone hidden in her voice and her eyes closed in amusement. Ichigo raised his eyebrows skeptically at her odd question.

"Yeah, that's me…" he answered hesitantly. Had Orihime talked about him before?

Yuuka cracked open an eye and glanced at Orihime, with a sly smile on her face. Orihime's face flushed harder than before and her grip on her bag grew tighter. Ichigo stared at the two women, completely confused as to what was happening… Or the possibility of what _had_ happened.

"Oh, Orihime-chan, I almost forgot! I got a shipment of new necklaces in, that I think you'd like." She spoke and smiled as she remembered her latest addition to her stock. Her head quickly disappeared under the glass case and quickly popped back out, now with a small box in hand. Orihime let out a soft, "Eh?" as Yuuka handed her the precious necklace.

She opened it slowly, wondering what it could look like. As soon as she opened it, a bigger smile stretched across her face. "Yuuka-san, this is really cute!" She cheered, as the elderly lady gave her a big smile.

"I thought you'd like it," she whistled, happy to see her own customer and friend happy as well.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked, as he was starting to feel somewhat out of the loop. Orihime gave him a bright smile, which again, surprised him, as she showed him the necklace. Ichigo tilted his head in confusion as he stared at a small red, glass orb with some out-of-place green glass on top of it, all together strung on a thin, silver chain.

"Uh… What's it supposed to be?" He asked hesitantly, not sure what it was supposed to look like. Orihime pouted at his question, and Yuuka only laughed at her expression.

"I got a shipment of new, assorted glass fruit necklaces. I knew Orihime-chan's favorite fruit, so I pulled it out especially for her," she explained, pointing to the case with her bony finger. Orihime continued to admire the jewelry as she half-listened to their conversation.

"But what fruit is it? It just looks like colored glass."

"A strawberry," Yuuka replied, a big grin now adorning her face. "Like I said, Orihime-chan's favorite fruit." Ichigo looked at her dumbfounded, a blush threatening to crawl up his cheeks_. 'It's the fruit, dumbass… Not you…'_ But still, he couldn't help but get embarrassed from finding out his good friend's favorite fruit was "Ichigo".

"How much is it??" Orihime asked excitedly, her smile still apparent on her face. Yuuka's smile faded and turned to a light frown.

"3,408.47 yen."

Orihime's face fell at the expensive price. "Oh… Well, that's okay…" She closed the case up gently and put in on the counter. "It's a beautiful necklace, but I'm not sure I can afford it now..." Orihime responded, before putting on a silly smile and laughing lightly, "After all, I did buy almost that much in donuts." She held up the bag to show the plethora of assorted sweets. "Before we go, did you want one Yuuka-san?" Orihime asked, kindly offering one to the old lady.

"Aw, that's nice of you to offer, Orihime-chan but you and Kurosaki-san should have them yourselves," Yuuka smiled gently at her, taking the small necklace case off the countertop and into her hands. "And I'm sorry, I'd give you a discount, since you're a regular and all, but these are new, and-"

Orihime lightly cut her off, shaking her head. "Nope! It's completely fine. Thank you for showing it to me though, it's lovely…" She spoke, now looking up to Ichigo. "We should probably get going, Kurosaki-kun," her voice rang out, a tone of understanding and contentment evident, Ichigo noticing a tinge of sadness in there too_. 'She really wants that necklace… Maybe I-'_ He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of her voice, calling his name.

"Kurosaki-kun, I'll be waiting outside, okay?" Orihime told him, pointing to the door with a smile. "Yuuka-san, it was nice seeing you again! Hopefully we can meet again soon." She spoke, her voice sounding more forced at the last part. He nodded in understanding and she quickly left to wait outside in the cold. Ichigo knew he couldn't keep her out there long but his glance wandered back to the small case.

"So, will I be seeing you back here?" Yuuka asked, a small, but gentle smirk gracing her face. His stare lingered at the box, before looking back up to her and shrugging.

"Maybe…"

"Take care of her." He hesitated a bit before replying, even though he already knew his resolve; the resolve to protect her.

"I will."

--

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A/N: Waaah, sorry, it probably sounds so rushed now. *cries* I'm trying my hardest to write everything slower, so it's not rushed, but it's just so hard! XD Fwah.... Hopefully the next chapter can be up soon... And when I say soon, I mean like... Within the next month? I dunno... We'll just see where this goes... Ta ta my readers, I luff you so much for reading! XD I hoped you liked it!


	4. dI Kankei

_A/N: Wah, the next chapter is up!! I-I'd like to thank my mom, and my dad, and especially... **Copper**!! She's such a good beta, and she puts up with so much of my crap. T^T LOVE YOU WIFEY. But anywho... I wonder what'll happen in this chapter. D: Hey, maybe if we're lucky, we can get some IchiHime moments in there!! 8D Just think of how exciting that'd be! Wowzerz! But, uh, sorry for the late, late, laaaate update. See, when I posted my last chapter, it was when I was home sick for two weeks, so I clearly had a buttload of makeup work to do(which accomplished successfully now!) and then... Yeah, I can't remember what I did for those other few weeks. Lots of test maybe? I dunno... Sorry, onto the disclaimers!_

_Edit: There were errors that bugged me. D8 I fixed them now though. (hopefully...)  
_

_**.chapter title. **Connection_

_**.disclaimer. **I do not own Bleach and co., and never will. (x2, since I forgot last chapter. XD)_

* * *

---

The walk back to Orihime's flat was completely silent, and you could cut the tension between the two with a knife.

As Orihime walked along, she lightly swung her plastic bag filled with donuts, as her mind raced from topic to topic. She sighed quietly to herself as she found her brain deciding not giving her a break again. The big thing that ran through her head was the boy walking at her side. She started to wonder if he really didn't mind watching her, or actually found it burdensome to have to watch her for three long days. It was a question that wouldn't go away in her head, and she knew that ultimately, the only way she'd get her answer is if she asked him directly.

But she could never muster the courage to ask. She figured it would just be another troublesome thing for him.

Ichigo, on the other hand, seemed to deduce that all of this that was happening was _his_ fault. He remembered once being told that Orihime and Chad's powers manifested from his intense, "leaking" reiatsu, which lead him to think, if she didn't have her powers, Aizen would've never taken her to Hueco Mundo, where they discovered that she was the Royal Key. He inwardly groaned as rethinking all of his prior knowledge of, well… Everything was giving him a headache.

It was until they were at her door that he realized nothing was said between the two for quite a while. His lips grew into a deep scowl as he cursed himself for not saying anything. _'Crap, she probably thinks I don't want to talk to her… And how did I climb all those stairs without noticing it?' _

A soft click of her door brought him out of his submersed thinking once more, as she twisted the familiar key into the keyhole. Ichigo could've sworn he heard a soft sigh come from the healer in front of him as she unlocked the door, but he didn't find a reason why. Well, there were a lot of reasons, he noted, but nothing obvious.

One would assume that everything would be the same, if you left your home and came back. It clearly wasn't the case in this situation, as Orihime felt a flying, female body came leaping at her as soon as she opened the door.

"Orihime-chan!!" Rangiku exclaimed, embracing the small healer in a tight hug.

"R-Rangiku-san!" Orihime squeaked, sounding somewhat pained as she tried to push away from her friend in a nice manner. "W-What are you doing here?"

Hitsugaya was quickly at the front door as well, a calm demeanor about him as he looked at the three. "We told you we'd be here to check up on you two, but more importantly, Orihime Inoue." Rangiku nodded, stilling hugging the bright-haired teen.

"Yup! We'll be here for a while today, for most of the day tomorrow, and then…" She spoke, her tone of voice going from happy, to more serious as she spoke. Ichigo raised his eyebrows in curiosity, as she did not finish her sentence.

"That's only two days… What about the last one?" He asked, feeling a lump in his throat as he spoke. Rangiku only gave him a smile in response, then looked back to Orihime.

"I'll tell her about that later," she said, her voice quieter, which was odd for her personality. Orihime's eyes softened at the shinigami, and she nodded in understanding.

"Okay… But Rangiku-san," she started, "How did you and Toshiro-kun get into my apartment?"

"Inoue, you did actually lock your door, right…?" Ichigo asked hesitantly. He thought he'd seen her lock the door, but with the two soul reapers now inside, he wasn't so sure he'd saw correctly.

Orihime nodded, biting her bottom lip nervously. "I could've sworn I did. Unless…" She paused for a moment, causing his stomach to flip.

"Unless??"

Her gaze went from him, to the ground, and then to the two others watching the issue unfold. One was amused; the other one couldn't care less.

"Unless I started daydreaming again, and thought I locked it, but really didn't."

_Slap._

Orihime, who was still in Rangiku's grasp, jumped at his sudden action of bringing his hand to his face. A face palm, she thought it was called?

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, I'm sorry…" She quietly apologized, subconsciously gripping Rangiku's arms tighter. "I didn't mean to…" He partially removed his hand to look at his healer friend, and immediately regretted it.

Her downcast gaze and sudden guilty tension made him want to go crawl in a hole. What was with him and always making her upset?

"Inoue, no…" He started, his tone sounding very unsure. "I mean, don't apologize… Like you said, you didn't mean to." He tried to reassure her, despite feeling like crap for making her feel bad in the first place. That and he had two other pairs of hard, cold eyes boring into him, sending shivers down his spine.

"Now that he's feeling extremely guilty," Rangiku started, promptly inciting a small "Huh?" from Orihime. "What were you daydreaming about?"

Her face flushed up as she muttered, "I-It's not important…"

"Apparently it is if you're blushing, and it caused you to forget to lock your door."

"Oh, that… Well… I-I…" She hesitated.

"Oh! So you were daydreaming about _that_." _'Or rather, him. Poor girl doesn't know she's so easy to read.'_

"…That?" Ichigo asked inquisitively. "Why does that sound suspicious?" His question caused Orihime's face to flush up more.

"A-Ah, I-I was just thinking about…" Orihime started, trying to decide if she wanted to say it or not. _'I was daydreaming about you! Oh yes, definitely not embarrassing…' _She mentally chided herself.

"Her favorite strawberry," Rangiku cut in, saying it for Orihime, with a smile on her face. Orihime felt like her face was on fire. He was smart, and she was very worried that he would surely understand what she meant.

"Oh…" Ichigo responded, his face turning red as well. "Didn't know you had a 'favorite' strawberry, Inoue…" She only nodded, wanting to bury herself in Rangiku's arms to hide her embarrassment.

'_Not you, you idiot! Why do you keep thinking it's you?!'_

'_**Are you sure there's no hidden meaning?' **_his inner hollow chuckled, bringing himself out at an 'inopportune' time. _**'The broad with the rack seems pretty suspicious about it.'**_

_'Why the hell would there be a hidden meaning? Inoue doesn't mean me when she talks about this, 'favorite' strawberry… She wouldn't talk about me anyway.'_

'_**Wow, disappointed much? You're annoying.'**_

_'Shut up.'_

'**You know what's also annoying? It's raining again in here. Why the hell is it raining??'**

'_How should I know, it's not like I'm in there myself!'_

'**Well, it's pissing me off, so quit being a pansy and man up. I can't stand this rain OR your fucking depression.'**

_'…Depression?'_

A small sneeze from the auburn-haired teenager brought Ichigo out of his inner dispute.

"Ah, we should get you inside, Orihime-chan! No use spending this time outside in the freezing cold," Rangiku spoke, squeezing the young girl tighter with her hug.

"Ah, okay…" She replied quietly, sneezing once more. Rangiku swiftly turned her around and went back in with the blushing teenager, leaving substitute shinigami and captain alone on the steps.

---

"Um, Rangiku-san, I can't really walk with your arms around me…"

"Oh, sorry Orihime-chan!" The busty blonde apologized, letting go of the teen. "It's just so fun to hug you!" She exclaimed, quickly giving her another hug.

"E-Eh, Rangiku-san!"

"So what were you and Ichigo doing outside?" The blonde suddenly asked her, her tone tensing up, becoming more serious. She continued to walk into the flat, and wandered towards the closet. "I thought you were told to stay inside."

Orihime's face flushed up once more and her mouth shifted into a small frown. "Oh, um… Sorry… I'm thinking he just wanted to get out because there's only so much to do inside."

"So he's a punk, breaking the rules," she replied sarcastically.

"Kurosaki-kun's not a punk!" Orihime exclaimed a bit louder than she intended. Rangiku grinned as she offered out her hand, to take her coat. "Er, I mean… He's kind, and gentle, and he has a funny scowl," she started to list off characteristics that she saw, and favored of his, slipping off her coat to give to her friend. "I just think he didn't want to be stuck in here any longer… Thank you."

"Really? Because all I see is a no good, orange-haired teenager with no manners and a weird scowl," Rangiku laughed, vaguely wondering how her friend would react to her opinion of her crush. "You're welcome," she said, hanging up her coat. "And he'd better get used to it, because he'll be in here for another few days." Orihime forced a light laugh at her friend's last attempt at a joke. Even though it was true, she didn't find it very funny.

Orihime sighed lightly and leaned against the wall, pulling at her scarf with her free hand. "You can think that Rangiku-san, but…" she spoke quietly, with rosy cheeks and a smile on her face. "I think Kurosaki-kun is an amazing person. He'd do anything for his friends, and that's what makes him kind." The teen leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes slowly. "There are also a lot of times I wish I could be like him. Strong-willed, courageous, kind-hearted…" Her smile curved into a small frown.

"You're kind-hearted too, Orihime-chan."

"Ah, no not really," she replied in the same tone, putting on a small, awkward smile. "However, I lack resolve." She paused. "I wonder if Kurosaki-kun is unhappy with 'watching over' me…"

'Hm… She's really over thinking this…'

"Ah!" Orihime jumped from her position against the wall, now blushing madly. "Just look at me, talking about Kurosaki-kun so casually. I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologize," Rangiku replied, her smile now faded. "And I don't think…" She hesitated for a moment. "Ichigo's not the type of person to be unhappy with taking care of friends."

"But he doesn't like being around Ishida-kun all that much…"

"That's a different story. You, Orihime-chan," she spoke, pointing at her intently. "You are the woman he would've given his life for, to save from Aizen in Hueco Mundo. You're obviously different from the Quincy." Rangiku gave her a soft smile, accompanied with gentle eyes. "He's not unhappy with watching you. If anything, he's probably just nervous about what's to come."

"You mean…," Orihime asked, but instead of actually saying it, she only put up three fingers. Rangiku nodded.

"Are you afraid?"

Orihime was taken aback by that question. For a brief moment, she remembered Ulquiorra with his outstretched hand, asking her the same question. She had replied that she wasn't, only because she _knew_ things were going to be all right, eventually. But now… She wasn't so sure.

She forced the stinging tears to stay where they were, as she looked towards her friend, feeling her bottom lip quiver a bit. Rangiku saw her downcast expression, and engulfed her into another hug, only more gentle than previously. Orihime dropped her bag, and wrapped her arms around Rangiku's slim waist, returning the hug.

"It's okay to be afraid, Orihime-chan. To know something big is going to happen, but you don't know what, is a scary thing."

"I-It's not that…" Orihime stuttered, still holding back the tears. She lightly pushed away from her friend and took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"I'm afraid of never seeing Kurosaki-kun again…" She gave Rangiku a watery smile as she spoke. "I-I understand that the decision is what'll be best for everyone, but to not see Kurosaki-kun's face, and hear his voice," she paused, swallowing thickly. "It's sad, is all…" The shinigami gave her a small smile in return.

"I see…" Rangiku lifted her arm out of the hug, and started to wipe at Orihime's escaped tears with her sleeve. "That's why you just have to make the most of this time, right?" Orihime silently agreed as her eyes were dried with the blonde's sleeve. The arm dropped down, and unexpectedly, Rangiku grabbed at her sides, starting to tickle her fiercely. Orihime was unable to hold in the laugh as her sides were being attacked.

"R-Rangiku-san, s-stop," Orihime pleaded, laughing in-between words. "I-It tickles!"

"And that," Rangiku started, stopping her tickling frenzy, and smiling widely at the girl. "Is what people like to see. Your friends like to see your smile, Orihime-chan." She playfully tapped her on the nose.

"But-"

"And that includes Ichigo, so make sure you smile for him. I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

The healer was baffled at first, but her agape expression soon turned to a small, but true smile.

'I know I would wish to see smiles from my friends. Rangiku-san's right… Kurosaki-kun would want the same.'

"Thank you, Rangiku-san," Orihime spoke sincerely, now feeling a better about what was happening. She still felt the nervous butterflies in her stomach, but her shoulders felt oddly lighter, like the whole issue at hand really wasn't such a big deal. _'Talking to someone really helps…'_

"It's no problem, Orihime-chan, that's what friends are for," Rangiku replied, unwrapping the scarf around the girl's slim neck and hanging it up. "Now let's go back in with Hitsugaya-taichou, and Ichigo, and see what they're up to." Orihime nodded, picking up the dropped bag from the floor.

"And we can eat all these sweets together!" She spoke happily, rummaging through the bag, checking for any damaged sweets. She let out a sigh of relief as none were harmed.

"Sounds good!" A wide smile grew on the older woman's face, as she turned around to head back to the other two.

"W-Wait!" Orihime stopped her friend, her tone suddenly changing from exuberant, to distraught. Rangiku turned back around, facing the small girl with raised eyebrows. "C-Can I ask one more question…?" The blonde noted her now serious expression, and prepared to take on the inquiry with just as much sobriety as needed.

"Of course, Orihime-chan."

"Um… Do you…" She hesitated, her eyes flashing with multiple emotions. Rangiku folded her arms under her generous chest and shifted her weight onto one leg.

"Orihime-chan… Just say it."

"Do you think differently of me now, since I'm the Key?" Orihime asked fervently, then quickly throwing her hands up to her mouth, as if she had just said something very bad.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rangiku asked, somewhat confused. Orihime shook her head, now refusing to repeat what she said.

"N-No, never mind, it wasn't important," she mumbled through her small hands. "Sorry I stopped you in the first place!" The blonde waited a moment, processing the question the young girl had just asked.

"You're asking me if I think of you differently now?" Another few minutes passed, before the teen nodded slowly, a flash of fear in her eyes. How could she ask such a question? She was afraid her friend would scold her now.

"I don't."

"Huh?"

"You know why?" Rangiku began, now starting to worry about her. She apparently had thought long and hard about this, along with a lot of other things. The poor girl was asking all these serious questions, which were beyond her normal nature. "Because you've always been the Key, ever since the day you were born. Soul Society just never noticed it before."

"But-" Orihime interrupted, but was quickly hushed by her friend, with her finger to her lips, silently telling her to let her finish.

"You've always been Orihime-chan, and you always will be. I'm not going to think differently of you just because I found out you're the source of a great power," she explained, hoping her reasoning would reassure the healer. "I know you, and I'm not going to let a small thing like you being the Key change the fact I'm your friend."

Orihime felt tears well up in her eyes again, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering rapidly. She didn't know if she wanted to feel happy or sad. "R-Rangiku-san…" she stuttered.

"No more crying, okay? Remember the smiling thing?" Rangiku smiled herself as she spoke. "Ichigo will be concerned if he saw that you were crying."

The healer sniffed. "Would he?"

"Well, he's probably no good when it comes to crying girls," she laughed as she talked. "And seeing your tears would probably make him feel even worse."

"Wouldn't he only be concerned because I'm the Key?" She inquired, wiping away stray tears with her sleeve.

"You've been friends with him longer than you and I have been acquainted, right?" Rangiku asked right back, seriously wondering when the small girl would get the point. '_People would still love her for being who she is, no matter what she happens to be.' _Orihime nodded.

"Something like that."

"Then he'd feel the same as me," Rangiku spoke sincerely. "It doesn't matter if you're the Key or not. He'd be concerned over you because you're his _friend._" She sighed lightly, now wrapping an arm around Orihime's small shoulders. "Now quit worrying about everything and dry those tears before I tickle you again." The teen quickly did as she was told.

"Y-Yes!" Orihime laughed lightly, wiping away at her eyes. If the shinigami's tickling didn't hurt so much, she'd be okay with it the options she had. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Sorry Rangiku-san. My brain has been really weird the last few days. I think the aliens have taken over and made it so my brain wouldn't shut off. That's how I come up with those questions."

"Well you need to stop thinking so hard," Rangiku responded, flicking her forehead lightly with her finger. "You're going to give yourself one hell of a headache if you continue to do so." Orihime nodded and gripped the handle of the practically forgotten bag tighter.

"We should definitely go back to Kurosaki-kun and Toshiro-kun soon."

A laugh. "Yes, we should. Goodness knows both of them are tense people, and putting them together for a long time could end really badly," Rangiku snickered, imagining the possibilities. "Oh, one last question for you."

"Yes?" Orihime inquired, tilting her head to the side.

"About your hair…"

---

Ichigo sat on the floor by the small table in her living room, drumming a small tattoo on the floor in restlessness. _'When are they going to be back??' _He thought, feeling irritated. He didn't mind that the two girls were most likely talking, but what concerned him was what the elder was talking about. The thoughts she had were scary, and most often put bad ideas into the healer's head.

His other irritation was from sitting next to Hitsugaya Toshiro for over 15 minutes, and not a single word had been spoken. Not like he was doing a bang up job of conversation either.

"Kurosaki," Toshiro finally spoke, breaking the tense silence. Ichigo looked over to the captain, a scowl prominent on his face. "What were you doing outside?"

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, his tone growing in irritation.

"You were told not to leave this place."

"If I remember correctly, you just told us she couldn't stay at my place, and that she couldn't go to school. Nothing about going outside otherwise." Ichigo inwardly smirked as he spoke, thinking of how he was 'correct' in the fact that they really hadn't mentioned anything about going out.

"Do you even know the definition of house arrest?" Toshiro inquired, trying to keep his cool. He wouldn't let the orangette's attitude get on his nerves. The fact they went outside, on the other hand…

"Of course I do, I'm not stupid!" Ichigo protested, now tapping his fingers on the floor at a more frequent pace. "Plus Inoue's not arrested or going to jail, so your dumb house arrest definition makes no sense." _'Though they treat her like she is…' _He swallowed thickly at the memory of Soul Society treating her like shit. He still couldn't get over how they could treat someone like her so harshly. Ichigo involuntarily shuddered as he remembered them calling her a traitor.

Toshiro blew out an irritated sigh. _'So maybe he has me there…' _"Regardless, why were you outside?"

"What's it to you?"

"She's the Royal Key, she's at risk of being harmed if she's outdoors."

Ichigo paused, hesitating. He tried to force his anger to subdue. It wouldn't be beneficial to anyone, and if Inoue would see him, she'd be upset. He sunk his hand into his spiky hair, sighing heavily.

"So you're suddenly changing the way you think of her? After all those weeks you spent with her here, getting to know her, have all changed? She's no longer Inoue, but she's just the Royal Key."

He stopped, waiting for a response from the captain. Nothing.

"Dammit, Inoue's still Inoue. Don't go thinking she's not the same, because she's sure as hell is!" Ichigo continued on, unable to keep his emotions calmed down. Toshiro felt a sharp rise in his reiatsu, and vaguely wondered if the other two, not with them, had felt it as well.

"Calm down, Kurosaki, you're not helping anyone," Toshiro spoke in monotone, now pondering what the boy's reiatsu could do to the Key. To Orihime.

"You want me to calm down?" Ichigo asked bitterly, his tone sharp. "You make it so Inoue's not the fucking Key, and then maybe I'll calm down." He stared down to the floor, trailing off on the thought of how she didn't deserve any of this.

"You know very well that could be possible for her in three days," Toshiro spoke solemnly, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, at the risk of dying," Ichigo retorted, suddenly feeling very sick at the words just said.

He silently cursed himself, for thinking of Inoue's fate again. The one thing he wanted to protect her from, and he couldn't do a thing.

"Kurosaki, you need to get one thing straight," the captain started, his voice sharp as he talked. "You're here to watch over her, and watch over her only. You're not helping yourself _or_ her, by putting your emotions into the situation."

"What the hell are you talking about?" The orangette asked, his eyes bugging out at what the ice captain could possibly mean.

"What I'm saying is that you need to stop putting your personal feelings into 'business' reasons," Toshiro told him, scoffing lightly. "And stop getting so attached, you're only going to hurt yourself in the end."

'_Get attached to what? Inoue's already my friend, it's a little too late for that!' _Ichigo mentally yelled to himself, chewing on the inside of his cheek in frustration.

"I'm serious! It's a sexy move!" A female voice was heard, breaking the tense conversation between the two. Ichigo's eyebrows twitched, recognizing the voice. It was Rangiku's and the only other person she could be talking to was… He swallowed hard. _'Inoue…'_

"E-Eh, but Rangiku-san, it was unintentional!" A smaller, more familiar voice followed, causing Ichigo's stomach to drop.

'_I'm not even sure I want to know what they were talking about…' _He brought his gaze up to the two entering women, a prominent scowl stuck on his face.

"Sure it wasn't," Rangiku slyly told the smaller girl, nudging her playfully.

"What's going on?" Ichigo inquired, still feeling irritated from earlier. He tried to hide it now though. He knew Inoue had enough on her plate, he didn't want her to have to worry about him.

"We're going to eat don-" Orihime started, but Rangiku cut her off and pointed to her hair.

"She put her hair up in a ponytail! Studies show that revealing the neck is sexy, though Orihime-chan said it was unintentional," the blonde spoke gleefully, abruptly trailing her finger up the girl's skin. (Ichigo vaguely wondered what stupid studies she was referring to.) In response, Orihime angled her head to one side, accidentally exposing more of her neck. Her face flushed up as she pleaded to the older woman, asking for her to stop.

"P-Please… Stop!" Orihime stuttered in a lower tone, internally trying to decide if she was so flustered because either tickled, felt too interesting for her tastes, or that her busty friend was doing something so incredulous in front of the person she loved.

Ichigo stared at the two, more or less the flustered girl, completely stunned. His heart was hammering in his ribcage as he watched the elder shinigami invade the healer's personal space and he couldn't help but feel his face heat up severely while his friend made such heady expressions. The orangette swallowed thickly, trying to ignore his hollow's comments about the current scene.

"Matsumoto…" Toshiro spoke out, obviously breaking the unusual tension the busty vice-captain was causing. Rangiku just smirked as she looked over to Ichigo.

"Like what you see?" She asked him, putting on a wide grin while pointing to the auburn-haired healer. Orihime's face was completely red now, and she looked like she was about to pass out. Ichigo also turned a bright color of maroon, the hue clashing terribly with his hair. Rather than saying an answer to her question, which would cause either hurt or embarrassment, he just asked the blonde to let her go.

"Let Inoue sit down…" He barely managed to squeak out, his voice much lower than he expected it to be.

"Why?"

"Because she looks lightheaded! Now let her sit down before you cause her to pass out from your embarrassing comments."

Rangiku waited for a moment, surveying the emotions in Ichigo's expression. The irritation and concern was to be expected, but why was the boy watching Orihime with such avid eyes? She just smiled once more and let go of the flustered girl, letting her stumble a bit before sitting down next to Ichigo.

"You okay…?" He asked, concerned. She took her time putting the bag on the table, but she nodded fiercely. _'Damn… I asked her that stupid question again.'_

"Y-Yeah… I think so," Orihime spoke softly, a small smile gracing her features, accompanied with a light laugh. "Rangiku-san's just being herself."

Ichigo was a bit taken aback by her smile. Yes, he had seen some smiles from the girl in the last twenty-four hours, but he saw sincerity and it was a 'normal' smile from her. It wasn't one of her original 'supernova' grins she used to have before the whole Hueco Mundo fiasco, but it was true.

Orihime stuck her hand into the bag and pulled out a baked sweet at random. "You want one, Kurosaki-kun?" She generously offered him the first treat, a smile still directed at him. He nodded taking the snack out of her hands, his fingers accidentally brushing against hers in the process. She blushed again and laughed, shrugging off what had just happened.

"Thanks Inoue," he muttered, his heart beating erratically again, promptly pissing him off once more.

And there it was again: that feeling of being right where he was supposed to be. _'Don't feel like this, dammit… It'll only make things worse.'_

Ichigo gave her a small smile, one that was only reserved for her, before taking a bite. In response, she flashed him a big smile; her cheeks still flushed from their previous contact. He ignored his hollow's comments about her being cute, as he thought intently to himself.

'_Maybe… Should I accept this feeling…? I mean, Inoue needs someone to be there for her now,' _his mind muddled on the thought while chewing on the treat. The teen's gaze kept drifting back to the healer, who was enjoying her own snack, a satisfied look on her face.

'_...Why do I feel like I want to be that person?'_

---

"Bye bye Rangiku-san! Bye Toshiro-kun!" Orihime waved to the two departing shinigami enthusiastically, forcing back a yawn. They had stayed late, and were only just leaving now. She closed the door softly, letting out a light sigh.

"Are they finally gone?" Ichigo asked sourly, as he stood behind her, a scowl still etched on his face. She nodded, giving him another smile.

"Yup! They'll be back tomorrow, though I'm not sure when," she replied casually, rubbing her hands over her arms, like she was cold. He nodded, bringing a hand up to the back of his neck, kneading it as if uncomfortable.

"… And the last day?" He inquired once more; wondering if the reason he felt tense was because of that dreaded question arising in his head once more. Orihime smiled and shrugged.

"Rangiku-san didn't say, now that I think about it, but I'll be sure to ask her about it tomorrow," she reassured the boy in front of her. He just looked at her with uncertain eyes. _'Something doesn't feel right…' _Ichigo noted, though he'd been feeling that 'something isn't right' for quite some time.

Orihime continued to smile for him, despite her nerve-wracking questions flying through her brain. Her friend's previous comment about her smiling really hit it home with the healer, and she made the decision to smile as much as she could, for him, despite how she was actually feeling.

"Inoue," Ichigo muttered, now sticking both hands in his pocket, shifting his weight to one leg. _'I hate myself for asking this question again, but…' _She looked at him with curious eyes.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?" He asked, concerned. Her grin grew wider as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, for one, you weren't exactly giddy this morning, like you are now." _'It's kinda freaky…'_

The curve on her lips flipped, now forming a small frown. "I'm just taking Rangiku-san's advice, is all…" Ichigo inwardly groaned, somewhat curious about what the blonde had told her, but also not wanting to even go there. He sighed, figuring he would regret even asking.

"And what did she tell you this time?" The substitute shinigami asked cautiously, lightly tapping the floor with his foot, a feeling of worry coursing through his body.

"That people like to see me smile," Orihime spoke softly, now fiddling with the hem of her shirt nervously, although she didn't know why she felt so weary. "Including you…"

He stopped, processing what she had just said. Yes, he did feel a lot better when she smiled. Hell, he could probably say he felt like he was completely at ease when she did, but her expressions now made him feel anxious and his intuition told him that it wasn't real, that she was just doing it to please.

Ichigo swallowed thickly, pulling at his suddenly tight collar as he called himself a coward if he didn't continue the conversation.

"I-I do… Your smiles are… are…" He paused, his mind racing furiously for a good word to define her expressions. "Funny…" She looked at him, with big eyes. Big, confused eyes… Ichigo's heart was hammering against his chest as he mentally beat himself up.

_'Dammit, why the hell did I say that?? That was so stupid!!'_

His gaze quickly shifted to the floor, still cursing himself and starting to feel embarrassed. Of course she wouldn't say anything after he made a stupid comment like that! Hell, he wouldn't say anything if someone else had said that to him.

Orihime, on the other hand, felt her face heat up incredulously. She forced back a huge grin as she replayed the words in her mind. _'Your smiles are… Funny.' _ And here she had thought he didn't notice her at all. _'At least he notices my smiles, and he even likes them!' _

"I… Like Kurosaki-kun's smiles too," she replied nervously, a smile still threatening to show.

"Huh?" Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows, feeling dumbfounded. _'She's not mad?'_

"Though your scowls are funny as well!" Orihime finished, clasping her hands behind her back. Her heart played a fast, steady tattoo in her chest.

Ichigo, upon seeing her blush, turned red himself. Clearing his throat, and pulling at his collar once more, he tried to finish what he started saying before.

"Anyway… I was going to say, y-yes, I do like your smiles, but don't force yourself, Inoue," he explained, his voice, once again, lower than he wanted it to be. Her exuberant expression soon changed to a confused one. "You don't have to smile if you don't feel like it… It's okay."

Orihime's eyebrows rose at his suddenly changed tone. It had gone from nervous and forced, to… Calm and gentle. She felt a warmth bloom in her chest at her crush's sudden compassion.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun…" The healer's voice was small as she spoke, but he heard her clearly. "But being sad all the time won't accomplish anything, so that's why I'm smiling." Orihime shrugged, this time, forcing a small smile on her face. She felt the tears stinging her eyes again.

Ichigo sighed heavily, before running a hand through his hair. "Inoue, you can be sad if you want to. Dammit… I mean, don't think I'm telling you that you _need_ to be sad or anything, I just don't want you to force yourself."

Orihime felt as if her heart was going to burst out of her chest. Those darn aliens must slowly be taking over her body completely! First it was her head, now it was her heart.

Still… She had never experienced him to be so gentle and concerned with her. She knew it was a selfish feeling, to be thinking that he'd only acted this way to her and her only, as far as she's known, but deep down, she knew she liked it.

He gave her an awkward smile as he slid his hands back into his pockets once more. Ichigo felt like his face was on fire, as his minded seemed to repeat the fact that he was so corny sounding right now. He wanted her to understand though; understand that they're friends, and he'd be there for her always.

"And you know," he mumbled, wondering why he was talking so much in the first place. "I'm going to be here for the next few days, so… If you want to talk just let me know. I'm willing to hear about your concerns, because you don't have to endure the pain alone."

The healer's eyes stung with unshed tears more as he was giving her such an open confession. She thought she knew how kind he could be, that he really did have a gentle side. However, she'd never experienced anything like this.

Ichigo turned around, completely flustered, but still determined to get his point across. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, wondering what her reaction to all this sappy stuff of his was. "And…"

Her eyes grew big, as she heard his faint, single word. _'And…?'_

"You can share your pain with me, Inoue…"

Orihime had to shut her eyes from the incredible amount of tears built up in the corners of her eyes. She wanted to continue to look at him, even if all she saw was his back, and his suspiciously red neck with shaking fingers scratching it, nervously? But his words made her so happy, for a brief moment, she would be okay with _anything_ happening to her. Leaving to go to the Royal Realm, or to have the possibility of dying from the power of the Key being extracted, it didn't matter.

'_If anything happened right now, it'd be okay,'_ she thought. _'Because I-I feel so happy…'_

She let the 'happy' tears fall, not bothering to wipe them away. He couldn't see her anyways. Orihime clutched her arm tightly, her expression changing to a watery smile, and she let out a laugh.

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun," she sobbed, though her tone made it clear she was truly grateful. "Thank you so much…"

He still continued to face away, but he couldn't help but smirk lightly to himself, although his methods were corny by his standards, and his 'speech' didn't turn out exactly the way he wanted it to.

"You're welcome… Inoue."

---

* * *

_A/N: Oh SNAP, that was so IchiHime!! D8 Who knew Ichigo could be so... Nice. XD *snorts* Sorry. *hearts* I can't say when I'm gonna start the next chapter, but it prolly won't be for a while. I still have to write a fic for the FLOL exchange, for mah exchange buddeh person, and then prolly some fanfic gifts or something... I need to make gifts, but I suck as stuff, so... Yikes and ew, we'll see how that goes. Oh, but if there's any luck, and I'm not rushing for deadline for the exchange, I could possibly kick some butt for the chapter over my winter break(which is the last two weeks in December. :D Two weeks!) Blah, I hope you enjoyed this! R&R, bitte schon~_


	5. dII Anata no Tame

_Yay, new chapter... D: I hope you all like this. Sorry it was so fast, but it was either cram everything into one day like this, or make this day into two seperate chapters. D: Thanks to copper for all the help... 3 I've been such a bitch lately, and I really do appreciate her and what she does. DX I just have a god-awful way of showing it._ *sighs* Onto the chapter.  
**_.chapter title. _**_For You_  
**_.disclaimer. I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

* * *

_**---

The auburn-haired healer lay on her bed, her eyes glazed over and her cheeks glowing a healthy pink. She had actually slept fine, but her mind kept replaying the scene from the previous night in her mind.

"You can share your pain with me, Inoue…"

The swarm of those alien butterflies fluttered in her stomach uncontrollably again, she noted, but she was okay with them. She even called them cute.

'_Kurosaki-kun's so kind…'_ Orihime thought, giving the ceiling a half-hearted stare, while slowly bringing her small hands up to her flaming face. _'Though…' _Her subtle smile curved into a small frown.

"I hope he didn't say that out of pity…" the teen mumbled quietly before clearly realizing what she had said. Her eyes grew wide and brows furrowed. _'Why would I think such a thing? Kurosaki-kun's a good person! He's being nice because we're friends.' _She bit her bottom lip lightly. _'I think.'_

Orihime stayed still for a few more moments before taking in a sharp breath and promptly sitting up. _'Okay, time to get up!' _ She sat up quickly, inciting some dizziness from the sudden movement, but otherwise continued to sport a grin. No one could see it, but the healer still couldn't help but smile at his kind words. She stepped over to the mirror to evaluate her appearance.

'_I wonder if Kurosaki-kun's awake…' _Orihime thought, her gaze now hovering to the clock. It was still early, she figured he'd still be sleeping. She entangled her fingers through her hair swiftly, to detangle some of her more 'scary' knots, before heading out of her room and into the kitchen. She was humming again, as she walked along with a slightly bounce to her step. For sure, she was in a good mood.

"And if it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart, the only dream that mattered had come true," she quietly repeated her personal mantra again, taking note of the different feelings while saying it, comparing it now from yesterday. "In this life I loved… you…"

"Morning Inoue."

Quickly, her face grew incredibly hot as she inwardly worried whether he had heard her or not. Wait, why was he up in the first place? And why didn't she just decide to change into her normal clothes?? Now she was only in a tank top and pajama bottoms, with unruly hair, in front of her friend, no less. It didn't help that she was in love with the guy either.

"Uh… Everything okay?" Ichigo spoke again, bringing her out of her inner freak out. She nodded shakily, looking around the room for at least a sweatshirt or sorts.

Nothing.

She frowned lightly and took a seat at the table, a soft sigh escaping her.

"What, didn't get enough sleep last night?" The orangette inquired, a small smirk on his face. Was he trying to smile… Er, smirk for her? Or was he just being silly? Oh, how she wished she could read his mind or something…

"I slept fine," Orihime shook her head as she spoke. "… I think I had a really good dream too."

"Did you?"

"Mhm…"

"About what?"

She paused as she tried to remember what it was that she dreamed about. "Something with… Wasabi butterflies… Flying purple socks… And… Oh! Ku-" He cocked an eyebrow at her sudden stop. She felt her face heat up more. "Oh, never mind, it's not important!" The healer rose from her seat and proceeded to go to the counter, where the remaining donuts from yesterday had sat. She took a leftover out and started munching on it.

"Sounds like it sort of was important. What about Ku?" He asked her, starting to sit down in the chair. Was it just her, or did he sound amused?

"Ku… Ku… Cougars," she replied hesitantly, only coming up with an excuse at the last minute.

"Cougars."

"Yes, Kurosaki-kun. Cougars."

"Oh… Sounds cool." Ichigo responded awkwardly. _'Wow, that was a dumb move.' _Was it really cool for her to dream about butterflies, purple socks and cougars? He rested his chin in his palm, his face heating up slightly, as he thought she was going to say, 'Kurosaki'. Boy, was he off.

Why did he feel so disappointed?

He broke from his weird thoughts as she stuck a donut in front of his face, a bright smile on her face. "You want another one?" The shinigami curled his lips up ever so slightly as he took her from her hand. Between the exchange, his fingertips brushed over hers, sending an odd shock through his hand. She only smiled and laughed lightly.

"Thanks, Inoue," he spoke quietly, his fingers still pleasantly numb. _'… Pleasant? What the hell is wrong with me??' _She smiled wider.

She retook her seat, sitting across from him. Her arms were lightly crossed on the table, and her cheeks glowed a dark pink.

"Er, are you feeling okay? You look like you have a fever or something." Ichigo inquired, noting her suddenly bright face. She quickly brought her hands up to her face, covering it up as if embarrassed.

"Oh, no, I'm feeling fine," she retorted, hoping her reply wouldn't worry him further. _'I'm great in fact… All thanks to you.'_

_  
_"If you say so…" he finished, seriously questioning the awkward warmth in his chest. _'__Prolly ate too fast… Yeah, it's heartburn.'_

The two sat in silence again, and Orihime seemed to constantly fidget in her seat, as if uncomfortable. He raised his eyebrows at her constant movement. She took note of his staring, and stopped, her face growing hotter.

"S-So… What did you want to do today?" the healer asked, hoping to distract him from her fidgeting.

"It's up to you, Inoue." Ichigo kneaded the back of his neck roughly, now glancing at the wall off to the side.

"Oh… Right…" she sighed lightly, wondering what there was to do before her time was up. "I wonder if… No, never mind…"

"No, what were you going to say?"

Orihime placed a small, somewhat sad smile on her lips. "I guess… It would be nice if I could Tatsuki-chan one more time. I'd want to tell her everything, and then apologize…"

"Inoue, you have nothing to apologize for," he tried to reassure her, because really, she had no legitimate reason.

"I haven't told her the truth. Withholding information is the same as lying, right?"

"I guess…" Ichigo crossed his arms now, as he spoke. He had an uncomfortable feeling that wasn't sitting well with him. And then there was that stupid 'heartburn' he had too. It only seemed to get worse whenever he looked at her. _'I could…' _he silently brooded over a slowly forming idea.

"But Tatsuki-chan is in school right now, and I technically can't see anyone, so it's fine!" Orihime waved her hands frantically, putting on a happier expression for him. "Though… If you could tell her for me, when you see her in a few days, I'd be really happy…" He frowned, the awkward feeling growing.

"Inoue…"

"Oh! What am I saying? You don't need to do anything you don't want to do, Kurosaki-kun," the healer laughed lightly, trying to break out of her rambling. "Sorry I even said anything." His scowl grew deeper. _'Inoue…'_

"You know, I'm going to go shower up and stuff," Orihime spoke clumsily, her hands fidgeting as she talked. "Goodness knows I'm a mess right now." She laughed, hoping he wouldn't catch onto her restlessness.

'_You look fine to me…' _Ichigo swallowed thickly as he forced himself to keep his opinion to himself. He nodded slowly, and she left quickly. The orangette sighed heavily and placed his head in his arms. What the hell was wrong with him?? He kept thinking about their accidental touches, and his frequent thoughts about her. It was driving him crazy!

A loud knock brought him out of his thoughts and Ichigo stood up alarmed. Who would want to be at her house at this time of day? He went to the door cautiously, and opened the door to find _them_. He groaned in frustration. "Oh... It's _you_."

"That's not a nice way to greet us, Ichigo!" The strawberry-blonde shinigami exclaimed, now wearing a fake pout. "And we came all this way to see Orihime-chan!"

"You weren't even that far away!"

"Calm yourself, Kurosaki."

"Shut it. I don't want to hear anything from you." Ichigo hissed at the young male, shoving his hands into his pocket. It was amazing how quickly they could rise his blood pressure. Rangiku invited herself in and strolled right into the flat.

"So where's Orihime-chan anyway?" She purred, crossing her arms under her heavy chest. Ichigo kneaded the back of his neck again; his eyes now focused on the floor.

"Uh, shower…" He mumbled awkwardly. Wait, why did he have to tell her where his friend was?

"You're so flustered! Did you try to sneak a peek?"

"… Excuse me??" Ichigo's jaw dropped while talking. "Why the hell would I try to s-sneak a peek at Inoue?!" This woman was insane!

"So she doesn't have a good enough figure to impress you?" Rangiku inquired, doing the pouty thing again. "Aw, she'll be so sad to hear that."

"Shut up!! That's not the reason at all!"

"So you like her figure?"

"Damn you! You know what? I'm not even going to answer that, because you're annoying. You're just trying to get me pissed off," Ichigo swore sharply at the woman, grinding his teeth together in annoyance.

"Did it work?" She purred, now invading his personal space by poking him in the side. He swatted her hand away.

"What do you think?" He asked, still irritated. Ichigo brought his hand up to his face, and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Look… I need to go out for a bit. Can you watch over Inoue?"

"Kurosaki…" Toshiro warned the substitute. "You know you're not allowed to leave her side."

"Damn it, I know. But this is important." Ichigo sighed heavily, crossing his arms as well. A moment of silence swept past the three, and questionable glances were exchanged between the busty blonde and her captain. Ichigo clenched his jaw before barely mumbling a "Please…"

"… Fine… But you're to be back within an hour, understood?" Toshiro responded, looking up warningly to the orange-haired teen.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it Toshiro." Ichigo paused. "Thanks."

"It's Captain Hitsugaya to you, Kurosaki!"

---

Pulling her clothes out of her drawers, Orihime drew in a sharp breath, hoping her heart would calm down. Why had she asked so much of him? He didn't need to do a darn thing for her, yet she still requested so much. Her face flushed as she quickly remembered the small touch between her and him, as she exchanged the sugary treat. Sure, she acted like she didn't notice, but her heart definitely had a say about it.

The healer swiftly left her room and approached the bathroom door, closing it quickly behind her. Why couldn't she calm down? It was as if her vital organ in her chest was yelling at her, trying to tell her something important. What it was, she had no clue.

She placed her clothes on the counter before turning on the shower full blast. She watched the drops hit the bottom of the off-white basin beneath her. Orihime was in semi-awe as the water reminded her of her lovely rain.

Soon her clothes were shed and she stood under the spout of water droplets, letting every inch of the liquid soak her body. The hot water felt wonderful on her back and on her hair, but her knees felt weak again, and she knew only one person was able to ever do that.

"Kurosaki-kun…" she mouthed inaudibly to herself, while standing in the square box. Her cheeks grew hotter with each passing thought of him, and her heart began to ache with longing and want. Oh, how she wanted to see him… How she wanted to stay here in Karakura forever, not leaving to go to the Royal Realm, or any where else. As long as she was here, everything would be all right. As long as she could see him, she'd be okay.

Orihime deftly shut the water off; her glazed eyes merely focused on the wall close to her. She lightly rested her forehead on the cool surface before shuddering and exhaling shakily.

She didn't want to go… She really didn't. And she didn't know if it was her tears, or leftover water from her prior shower, that smoothly rolled down her face, and into the drain below.

It was definitely her tears, as she choked back a sob, biting her bottom lip hard. Her breathing was ragged, as she tried to hold back those salty drops. _'Oh, Kurosaki-kun, I don't want to go away…' _She shivered again, her thoughts distraught.

Orihime morosely stepped out of the shower, and dried herself off with a towel before redressing herself with new clothes. Her hands lingered on the hem of her shirt, as thoughts of her Kurosaki-kun swept by in her mind. She couldn't help but sadly smile from all the memories, and her heart only grew heavier with every remembrance. _'Oh no, I think I'm falling for him even more…' _She kept her lips curled in that sad expression.

The healer drew in a deep breath before taking the hairbrush, plowing through all the knots. It was shortly after that she had finished, and was ready to leave, to go back out to where he was. Her heart fluttered again at the thought of him, and her grip on the doorknob grew tighter. _'Just smile for him. He enjoys seeing you smile.' _

Orihime swung the door open, and she began her search for the orange-haired friend.

"Kurosaki-kun, I'm done!" The healer placed a smile on her face, her voice jubilant towards the boy.

Only the boy wasn't there. At least, not the one she was looking for. Instead, there was a familiar busty strawberry-blonde, and a white-haired boy sitting in the chairs her and Kurosaki-kun were in earlier.

"Ah, Orihime-chan! Hello!" Rangiku exclaimed, swiftly getting up from her spot to hug the smaller girl. "It's nice to see you again!"

"Ah, it's nice to see you again too Rangiku-san, Toshiro-kun, but… Where's Kurosaki-kun?" She squeaked, as the grip from the elder woman was tight.

"He went out." Rangiku said flat out.

"Out…? Did he say why?" Orihime inquired, feeling somewhat hurt that he left. No, he could go anywhere he wanted… The healer knew he wouldn't want to be hanging around with her so much. The vice-captain looked over to her superior, her expression serious. Toshiro nodded.

"He said he needed to do something important. He didn't specify what it was, but it apparently must be more important than watching the lovely Orihime-chan." Rangiku explained, clearly not meaning to sound so harsh. "Seriously! Leaving a beautiful girl to accomplish some stupid chore! He's such a jerk." Orihime shook her head, the tears stinging her eyes again.

"Ah, no, Kurosaki-kun isn't a jerk, Rangiku-san… Whatever he had to do must be really important, and watching over me really isn't, so…" Orihime waved her hands frantically as she spoke. "It's no big deal."

"But Orihime-chan, you're tearing up again." Rangiku's tone softened as she poked the healer lightly on the cheek. "Whatever you're thinking of, don't. Ichigo's not the type of person to leave because he's getting tired of being around one place for so long."

"But-"

"No buts. You know Ichigo cares for his friends. Sure, this chore or whatever is important, but he's not doing it to get away from you. Okay?"

Orihime nodded, wiping her stinging tears away with her yellow sleeve. "O-Okay…" Suddenly, the door knocked once more, quickly prompting a smile from Rangiku.

"She's finally here!"

"Who's finally here?" The auburn beauty asked, following the vice-captain to the door. Rangiku opened the heavy door open and revealed a small, black-haired woman. "Wah, Kuchiki-san!"

"Hey Inoue! It's good to see you," Rukia smiled to the young girl, waving to her. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I guess I've been okay… Yourself?" Orihime smiled, feeling somewhat relieved of another close friend being here. She clasped her hands together tightly, and shifted her weight onto her heels.

"I've been fine as well. Now, Matsumoto-fuku taichou, you called me here for that, correct?"

"Huh? What's _that_?"

Rangiku sighed, taking Orihime's hands in her own. "Orihime-chan… We've received information on what's going to happen after tomorrow." The healer's eyes grew wide and she gasped. "We need to talk." She only nodded lightly, and went to her living room, sitting softly on her couch.

"Um…" She started. "P-Please just be honest with me… No beating around the bush." Rukia looked over to the suddenly sad teen, feeling quite guilty about what they had been informed of.

"Of course," Rangiku's expression grew soft, sitting down beside her. "Hitsugaya-taichou, do you want to explain, or should I?" she asked her white-haired superior who was currently entering the room.

"You can, Matsumoto."

"Okay… Orihime-chan, as you know, there are two choices as to what Soul Society and the Soul King want to do with the Royal Key. Either extract it from you, or you'll go to the Royal Realm, and perform your duties there," Rangiku started, placing a hand on Orihime's shoulder in comfort.

"Both of which have, um… certain consequences," Orihime murmured, almost silently. She clasped her hands together tightly, and her eyes were focused on her fingers in front of her.

"Yes… Now while the decision has yet to be made, it is already agreed for you to come to Soul Society for twenty-four hours beforehand, to make sure none of the Key's spirit particles weren't damaged and whatnot," Rangiku finished, placing her hand on the healer's small back.

"So… After tomorrow, I'll be in Soul Society just for a little while, regardless of what the decision is?"

"Correct." Rukia spoke in. "Inoue, what the final decision will be will determine how everything will play out after you've gotten to Soul Society. If you're to go to the Royal Realm, they'll set up the Golden Gate to transfer you over. If you're to have it taken out of you, you'll just stay in Soul Society when they do it."

"Um, e-excuse me for interrupting, but what's the Golden Gate?" Orihime cut in nervously, her once stilled hands now fidgeting.

"It's the Royal Realm's version of the senkaimon, only, it's for the Soul King's use only," Rukia explained, suddenly taking out a picture of a gate out of no where. "Don't feel bad about interrupting, Inoue. It's a lot of information, and you're going to ask questions." Orihime nodded.

"Okay… I, um… Think I get it, but…" Orihime's voice wavered as she spoke. Rangiku squeezed her friend's shoulder in concern, noticing her sudden nervousness. "Um, do you know when I'll be going then?"

"Tomorrow night. Hitsugaya-taichou and I will pick you up around midnight." Orihime tensed up, her realization of the actual time finally setting in.

"T-Tomorrow night… I see…" She choked out, inwardly scolding those naughty tears from reappearing again. "O-Oh, I'm sorry, I-I don't mean to be crying…" The healer quickly apologized, wiping the liquid drops away from her face. Rukia got to her feet and was soon in front of her friend.

"Inoue… You can cry… It's a tough thing to go through." The small girl wiped her tears away for her, a gentle expression on her face. "It's perfectly okay…" Orihime's bottom lip quivered, and it was as if everything broke. Tears started rolling down her face, making wet trails as they traveled. Rangiku gave her friend a tight squeeze on the shoulder, as Rukia watched the girl cry with a heavy heart, and Toshiro left the room, without saying a word.

---

He was a bit late, he knew it… But he didn't think it'd take so long to go get _that. _He exhaled slowly, a puff of white appearing in the air. His large hand grasped the small doorknob, and within moments, he was back in the warm apartment of Inoue's.

"Hello?" Ichigo asked out loud, finding the silence to be suspicious. "Anyone here?" He shoved his hands into his pockets, avoiding the small box nestled inside the fabric of his pants. His cheeks grew hot as he began his search for the small girl he called his friend. "Inoue?"

Eventually, he found her, although, his heart dropped significantly when he did. He discovered her resting her head on Rangiku's lap, appearing to be sleeping. Rangiku looked up to the substitute, a heavy expression nestled on her face, while Inoue curled into the fetal position. Rukia was also next to the girl, sitting on the floor. Her actually being here surprised him. They both looked to him with concerned expressions, however, they said nothing.

"What's going on…?" He asked quietly, his eyebrows arching in concern. "Is she okay?" A silence remained for a few moments, only glances being exchanged.

"Inoue will be fine…" Rukia commented in the same lowered tone, her small reaching out to the healer's hand, giving it a light pat. "She's just tired." Toshiro soon entered the room.

"Matsumoto, Kuchiki, we should probably go," he spoke defiantly, crossing his lean arms. "Since Kurosaki's back, we have no further reason to stay here." The two shinigami nodded, and looked back to Orihime for one last moment, before quietly and slowly getting up. Rangiku stood before the girl sprawled on the couch for a moment, before stroking her hair just once.

"Take care, Orihime-chan. We'll see you tomorrow."

And with that, the three left, leaving Ichigo standing in the barely empty living room, with a sleeping Inoue on the couch. He looked over to her, wondering what had really happened while he was gone. Ichigo sighed, and took a seat on the floor near the piece of furniture, his focus entirely on the frail girl in front of him.

"Geez, she's going to get a cold…" He mumbled to himself, propping his chin in the palm of his hand. His eyes hovered over her frame, almost taking in every inch. Once his focus was on her face, he noticed something off. Upon further inspection, it looked like… Dried tears? He swallowed hard as he felt his heart jerk at the thought of her crying again. _'Damn…' _

It was as if he no longer in control of his own body, when he brought his hand up to her face, his thumb trailing along the dried lines. She had cried again, definitely… Why did it seem to hurt so much to see her tears? She was a sensitive person, yes, but you'd think after a while he would have been used to seeing her crying, somewhat. But he didn't. Everytime she shed a tear was another heavy feeling for him.

"Sorry, Inoue…" was all the substitute could mutter, his entire hand encasing her small cheek. She didn't deserve any of this pain. Such a compassionate girl like her didn't deserve to have _anything _bad happen to her.

"Kuro…" She mumbled. _'Shit… Is she really awake??' _He thought quickly while retracting his hand back. She soon stilled again, her chest rising and falling lightly with her accompanied breathing. She looked like she was still sleeping, but Ichigo couldn't help but hold his breath. He put his head back into his palm, releasing the held breath. He continued to watch her as she napped, finding it oddly fascinating.

It was only soon that stupid 'heartburn' returned again, when he saw a fresh tear, just simply roll down her rose-brushed cheek. He resisted the urge to wake her up from whatever bad dream or nightmare she was having. His mind quickly crossed the thought that sleeping and dreaming was the only place she didn't have to experience so much pain that was here in reality.

"Inoue…" He breathed out, now brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face, lightly tucking it behind her ear. He licked his suddenly dry lips; still feeling awkwardly mesmerized by her sleep.

"I don't…" she muttered in her sleep again, causing Ichigo's eyebrows to tense. He was concerned, but she was only sleeping. Her bottom lip trembled once more as a few more salty drops fell down her face. "Please don't take me away…" Ichigo only watched in sadness, still forcing himself not to shake her awake. She subconsciously curled her body closer, breathing in sharply.

'_Dammit…' _He could do nothing. They were friends, and he wanted to save her from all this pain and sadness, but he couldn't do a damn thing. His opposite hand clutched the fabric of his pants, wondering if he was feeling her pain too.

"Not away from him…" Was the last thing Orihime whispered before finally quieting again. Her previously scrunched eyebrows relaxed, and the new wet trails from the tears were beginning to dry. Ichigo's lips curled up into a sad smile, though she'd never know of the expression he gave her.

"Sorry Inoue… Some friend I am. I can't even protect you…" Ichigo apologized, his mind wondering who this guy was. "I'm sorry…" He drew in a sharp breath, and repositioned his sitting posture.

Surely he could watch over her like this, just for a few moments more. Goodness knows there weren't many of those left.

---

Her body felt heavy as her eyelids started to flutter open slowly. A half-hearted stare was given from the healer, merely gazing at the wall.

'_Oh right… I fell asleep.' _Orihime's thoughts muddled together as she forced her tired body up, into a sitting position on the puffy couch. Her eyelids continually wanted to close at the imaginary weights resting there. _'Probably from crying so much.' _She concluded, bringing her hands up to rub at her eyes.

"Oh, you're awake?" A deep voice asked softly, causing her to pull her eyes away to see who it was. She originally thought it was someone else, since she'd never heard such a gentle tone before, but much to her surprise, it was Kurosaki-kun.

"Ah… Yes." She mumbled in response, her voice somewhat scratchy from sleeping. "Sorry…" Her nervous gray eyes looked up to brown ones.

"No, it's fine. You must've needed it," Ichigo replied, a small smile tugging at his lips. Orihime looked at him in disbelief. She knew he was kind. Oh, he was _so_ kind… But this felt absolutely wonderful. A warm feeling in her chest swelled almost immediately. "Though now that you're awake, come on. We're going out."

"Again?"

"Yes, again…" He chuckled lightly, disappearing into the hallway to retrieve their coats. He soon returned, handing the fluffy coat to the bright-haired girl. "Though it's going to be a different place this time." She nodded, taking it from his hands, and promptly slipping it on.

"Thank you…" She mumbled, still nervous. She folded her hands into various knots, wondering if she was dreaming again. All this was just too good to be true. He smirked casually at her, nodding, his eyes saying, 'you're welcome'.

They were soon outside, and Orihime surprised herself by actually remembering to lock the door. She even got a smile of approval from Ichigo, causing her heart to beat faster. She, in return, gave him a shaky smile.

Yup… Definitely dreaming, she concluded.

"So… Where are we going?" Orihime inquired, trying to pry the information out of the substitute shinigami. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and exhaled before speaking, a cloud of white temporarily forming.

"Secret." Ichigo replied, now looking up at the quickly darkening sky. "You'll recognize it though, when we get there." She only nodded, somewhat disappointed she hadn't been able to find out. She wouldn't ask further though, as she knew it was rude.

"Oh… Okay…" She spoke quietly, rubbing her hands together for warmth as she looked at her surroundings. "How long was I sleeping? I didn't get the chance to check the clock before we left."

Ichigo took a hand out to rub the back of his neck. "A few hours, I think? When I got back, you were already sleeping. Then Matsumoto-san, Toshiro, and Rukia all left." Orihime's lips formed into a small 'O' as she listened. She soon began blowing her warm breath on her hands, hoping it would further warm up her slowly freezing digits. _'Wow, it's cold…'_

"Cold hands?" He asked. She nodded, and shoved them into her coat pockets with a smile.

"Yes, I'm fine though. It's my fault for forgetting to grab my mittens before we left," Orihime laughed lightly, feeling her cheeks heat up. Was it from the cold? Or was it from him being so gentle? Maybe it was both…

"It's not a laughing matter," his tone was firmer, as he spoke. "Here, take mine." Ichigo offered his gloves, taking them off his own hands and placing them in front of her. The healer felt her face grow even hotter.

"Ah, but Kurosaki-kun! It's really cold, and you need the gloves so your fingers freeze and fall off!"

"I'd rather have my fingers, er, freeze and fall off, than yours." He shoved the gloves closer. "Take them." She looked up to him, seeing his brown eyes swell with emotions, and his orange hair she loved so much, fall over his eyes. _'Be still my heart…' _She mentally commanded the erratically beating organ in her chest. She humbly took them from his hands, and lightly placed them over her own.

"Thank you… Kurosaki-kun." He nodded, and resumed walking again, leaving her standing there for a moment. She continued to look at the overly large gloves on her small hands. Without thinking, she brought up the fluffy coverings to her face and inhaled deeply. Maybe she thought it would smell like Kurosaki-kun, and maybe she'd thought she'd like it.

And she was right. They held the musky, and masculine scent of him, with what seemed to be a light smell of some kind of cologne. If it weren't for him waiting for her, she would've stood outside in the cold all night, taking in his scent.

She resumed walking, to catch up to him. She almost tripped on the way, as her knees were growing awfully weak. Eventually she was by his side again, and she flashed him a bright smile. He couldn't help but give her a small grin in return.

It wasn't long before they got to the 'secret' place Ichigo had talked of, and when she found out, she only looked at him, her heart acting like it was ready to burst.

"Kurosaki-kun…" She whispered. He smiled bigger, and began to approach the door of the building.

"Come on, Inoue. Tatsuki's waiting for you."

Orihime nodded fervently, truly feeling happy. She ran up to the door, and rung the doorbell of the Arisawa residence. Tatsuki soon opened the door.

"Orihime!!" Tatsuki spoke, enveloping her friend into a tight hug. "I know you haven't been gone long, but I've missed you so much…" Orihime returned the hug, and looked to Ichigo, who was over to her side. She gave him the most sincere smile he'd ever seen, and tears of happiness stung at her eyes. Truly, she was grateful.

"I'm sorry Tatsuki-chan… Stuff kind of happened." Orihime patted her friend on the back. "Don't worry though, I'll tell you all about it." Tatsuki nodded, and quickly allowed her friends into her house, though the martial artist stopped her female friend at the door.

"Hey… Aren't those Ichigo's gloves?" She whispered, a sly grin on her face. Orihime's face flushed and she nodded. Tatsuki grinned as she nudged her in the side, causing her to become more embarrassed.

"Ah! Orihime-chan! I haven't seen you for so long, how are you?" Tatsuki's mother suddenly rushed in, greeting her two new guests.

"Hello Arisawa-san! I'm doing great! How are you?" Orihime responded enthusiastically, clasping her hands together before bowing to her in greeting.

"Oh, I'm good as well," She chuckled before looking over to the man standing awfully close to the healer. "Ah, and it's Kurosaki-kun too!" Orihime nodded nervously, her fingers twitching embarassedly under his large gloves. The mother remained silent for a moment before growing a huge grin.

"Oh my, Orihime-chan! You're finally going out with the guy you've been crushing on since your freshman year! Oh, I know! We should celebrate! Tatsuki, go get out the special cake we've been saving in the freezer!" Orihime's eyes grew wide as Tatsuki snickered. She knew they weren't going out, but it was plenty amusing to play along.

"Yes mom, of course!"

"Arisawa-san!! W-W-We aren't!!! W-Wah, Y-Y-Y-You made a cake??" Orihime exclaimed, very flustered. She was so embarrassed, she didn't know if she wanted to look over the young boy to see his expression.

"Of course we did! Kurosaki-kun, we're so surprised! We never knew you had it in you!"

"Had what in me?" Ichigo asked, brought out of his thinking and into the current conversation. "Sorry, I was kinda in deep thought." Orihime breathed a heavy sigh of relief. _'Thank goodness…'_

"A-A-Arisawa-san, there's nothing. And… there will never be anything." She explained, very knowing of the hard gaze she was receiving from Ichigo. "So please ask Tatsuki-chan to put away that silly cake." Tatsuki's mother frowned lightly.

"I see Orihime-chan, that's too bad. I'll go tell her to put it away, and you two can take off your coats and such here, okay?" Orihime nodded, and the two bright-haired teens were suddenly left alone once more.

"Sorry for not paying attention there. I ended up getting caught up in thinking about something else." Ichigo apologized, sliding off his coat and hanging it on the rack. Orihime shook her head almost violently.

"Oh no, don't worry Kurosaki-kun. You didn't miss _anything _important! Just silly chatter between girls." She explained, still flushed, slipping off her shoes, making sure she would wait to take off the gloves last. She definitely wanted to keep them on as long as possible.

"What was that last part about there being nothing though?" He inquired, taking her coat from her and hanging it up as well. Orihime's heart was beating erratically, and she found it quite hard to breathe. Should she say something? … There was no harm in telling him, she decided. At least, tell him in a roundabout way of sorts. She swallowed hard before speaking.

"T-T-There's just this person I like… And… he doesn't seem to notice my feelings, is all," Orihime regretfully slipped off the gloves, giving them back to him. "Thank you for the gloves." He nodded before furrowing his brows at her. Why was this awkward feeling of envy rousing in his chest?

"No problem… But he seriously doesn't notice it? Sounds like this guy is stupidly oblivious." Orihime held back the temptation to laugh at the irony, as Ichigo talked. She nodded, giving him a goofy, yet somewhat sad grin.

"I guess. He's really nice to me and all, but I've accepted there'll never be anything more between us," she replied, turning her back to him. What the healer was most afraid of was the type of expression she had on her face. Ichigo could, at times, read his friends like a book, and she did not want now to be one of those moments.

"Are you… planning on telling him? You know…" Ichigo too found it harder to breathe. He tugged at his abruptly tight collar. "Before you go?" Orihime only turned her head around to face him, and gave him a rueful smile.

"Nope."

"Why not?" Orihime resisted the urge to smile any wider, but she secretly loved the sudden concern he had for her.

"It'd be too painful for both of us," She replied to him one last time, before returning back around. "Thanks again for the gloves, Kurosaki-kun." And Orihime left Ichigo alone, holding the gloves still containing her warmth, only wanting to understand her odd reasoning.

---

"Ahh, that was delicious, Arisawa-san!" Orihime complimented, taking the napkin to lightly dab at her face. Tatsuki's mother smiled.

"Oh, it's no problem, Orihime-chan, we're so glad to have you here with us tonight," the elder woman spoke. "I'm sorry my husband couldn't be here though. He had to work late tonight…" Orihime waved her hands in reassurance.

"Oh no, it's quite alright. If you could just tell him I said hello, however…"

"Of course!" The mother looked towards the clock. "You two should probably get back soon, it's getting quite late." Orihime nodded, standing up and began her assistance of collecting the dirty plates.

"You don't mind that I help you clean up first though… Do you?" Orihime inquired, her voice in a small tone.

"Not at all! Tatsuki, Kurosaki-kun, you two can wait in the living room until we're done." The other two teens nodded before promptly leaving the healer and Tatsuki's mother in the kitchen.

Tatsuki sighed heavily before plopping down onto her couch. "I'm still having trouble taking it in…" She confessed to her bright-haired friend. Orihime had explained everything to Tatsuki prior to dinner, and it left the martial artist with a heavy heart. And when she meant everything, she meant _everything._ How she was the key, that she was leaving, the whole sha bang.

"That makes two of us." Ichigo replied dully, taking a seat next to her.

"Despite the fact you've been with her for the last few days?"

He only nodded. Silence sat between the two, and Ichigo couldn't figure out if it was awkward, or comfortable.

"You know what pisses me off?" She inquired, her voice wavering. Ichigo looked to Tatsuki, raising an eyebrow. "You're just letting her go like this. You seem perfectly okay with her leaving forever, or you know, possibly dying."

"No, I'm not."

"You sure as hell aren't acting like it," she spoke sharply, causing Ichigo to remain silent.

"I can't just go and rescue her every time she gets taken away…" Ichigo spoke tonelessly, his heart jerking at every word. Was it her words that it was hurting at? Or his own? … It was probably both.

"Do you know how stupid you're sounding?? You're making it sound like you've never really known Orihime! You sound like all she is, is that key!" Tatsuki drew in a tense breath before finishing. "It's like she's not important to you at all…"

"Dammit, Tatsuki, she's important to me, but-" Tatsuki cut off Ichigo's response.

"But apparently not important enough to get you off your ass and save," Tatsuki silenced him momentarily.

The worst part about her words? They weren't being yelled, and they weren't being sobbed out. But they were being said as if she had just been betrayed. Like Ichigo took a verbal knife and cut her himself. She was truly hurt. "Stupid Ichigo…" He looked away now. He made her cry… What was with him and making girls cry lately?

"You went to against that stupid Soul Society to rescue her. Now she's being taken away, against her own will again, and you're just sitting idly by." Tatsuki sat up, boring a hard stare at him. "Ichigo…" she moved his shoulder to make him look at her directly. "Give me one reason how it's different now, than it was before?"

"It's… I…" Ichigo looked at her dark eyes, emotions of anger and pain swirling around. He couldn't think of an answer.

"I didn't think so… There's no difference," Tatsuki scoffed before pulling her knees up to her chin, holding them close to her chest.

"Tatsuki, it's different. Don't ask how… It just is," He finally managed to choke a few words out. She looked at him questionably.

"How?"

"Er, well… I don't want to make this hard for her to go… If she wants to go, I'm not going to do anything that will sway her decision."

"Ichigo…"

He tensed up before returning his gaze to the carpeted floor, his sock digging a small hole into the strands.

"That is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard." Ichigo snapped his head back up to her, his brows furrowed at her ugly word choices. "Did Orihime ever say once that she wanted to go?" Ichigo's heart dropped, remembering the tiny girl's sleeping words earlier.

"Please don't take me away… Not away from him…"

Ichigo bit his tongue, trying to think of the best way to reply to the dangerous girl sitting next to me. "Not directly…"

"But she did." He only nodded shakily. Tatsuki brought her hand up to her face, to cover her eyes, and she began to laugh hysterically. "You know the best thing about all this?" Ichigo only raised his eyebrows, his stomach knotting up with guilt.

"You're no different that those Soul Society bastards." He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. "Ichigo… Just step back… You don't realize what you're doing. You're siding with Soul Society. And if you're siding with them, you're okay with her leaving forever, and you're okay with her dying." Tatsuki unexpectedly stood up, her hurt gaze now replaced with a fierce one.

"And someone that's okay with the death of my best friend, is no friend of mine."

Her final words drove the last stake into his heart, causing everything to wretch with guilt. _'… I'm so fucking horrible…'_ Orihime soon came back into the room, her exuberant expression soon replaced with a confused one.

"Orihime, go get your coat, and then I'll see you out, okay?" Tatsuki smiled for her best friend, pointing to the hallway. The auburn beauty nodded in understanding, and quickly retreated back to elsewhere.

'_Fuck… She's right…' _Despite sounding mean, and trying to make him feel as bad as hell, she did have a point… And it suddenly gave him a lot to think about.

Ichigo stood silently, his long orange locks covering his eyes. Tatsuki folded her arms, shifting all her weight to one leg.

"Fix that stupid wiring in your brain, idiot… And quick... Before you realize what you want is already gone."

---

* * *

_You gotta love Tatsuki... *hearts* Always there to swiftly kick Ichigo's behind into doing what's right. D: Er, well... She's making him think, which is a good thing... But he doesn't do it often, does he? I guess that means we have to hope his brain doesn't explode. On a different note, I have winter break starting this Saturday(yay!) for two weeks, so hopefully I can write this next chapter... D: (I'll definitely be working on Heartbeat, with it's short chapters and happy go lucky angst of it all... And maybe another new story. I has so many ideas, but I hear it's tough to write so many at once... We'll see!!) Thanks for all your reviews and reading! XD I very much appreciate it._


	6. dIII Ja Ne

_By far my favorite-est chapter. ;) And I know you all will like it too. So instead of rambling on like normal, just read it fools. :D_

_**.chapter title. **Goodbye_

_**.disclaimer. I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.  
**_

* * *

---

_Three days… 72 hours… 4,320 minutes…_

It wasn't enough time. Kurosaki Ichigo needed more time… But for what? To spend that time by her side, doing the same thing he's been doing those last 72 hours? He inwardly scoffed, because he knew he didn't do shit. He could've done better, he told himself. He could've taken her anywhere and everywhere, to make her happy and carve a smile onto her face.

But he didn't. He let her do whatever it is she wanted to, and that was almost nothing. It wasn't that Ichigo was against her wishes, no. He'd never say no the friend that deserves the most, but gets nothing in the end. He just couldn't say _no_ to her. He refused to tell her no.

Now he sat in her kitchen for the last day, his heart as heavy as lead. Orihime moved about, humming a small tune to herself, somehow managing to smile. How could she smile? She was pretty much dead by the end of the day… His heart grew heavier at his crude, harsh thoughts.

_"Fix that stupid wiring in your brain, idiot… And quick... Before you realize what you want is already gone."_

But what was it Tatsuki talking about? Ichigo had no idea. Well, he understood the first part was an insult, but he let that slide, mostly because he deserved it, but the second part… He asked himself the same question in his head.

'_What _do_ I want?'_

Now was one of those times where resolve should've really kicked in. It'd help the redhead a ton.

"Ano… Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime's sweet voice brought him out of his hard thinking. She set down a small plate of food in front of him. Ichigo looked up to her, a tense expression on his face. The healer knew him all too well, and wanted to poke at his brain and figure just what was causing him to be so strained. But she knew it wasn't her place. It was never her place… _'It's Kuchiki-san's… Not mine.'_

"What is it Inoue?" Ichigo asked, a small, tense smile creeping up his face. Orihime soon frowned at his expression. _'Oh, how I wish I could make him smile for real or something…'_

"I was just wondering if we could do something today, but if you'd rather stay here, I completely understand…" The healer mumbled, accidentally speaking too fast. Orihime folded her arms, her fingers grasping her flesh tightly. She hoped he would agree, but she'd certainly abide by _his _wishes too, if he chose to stay here.

"No, we can go out…" He grumbled, awkwardly picking up his fork. "Where did you want to go?"

"Um… Can we go to the cemetery? I'd like to see Sora-nii… one last time," Orihime replied quietly, soon taking a seat herself. She found it hard to say the last bit, and choked on her words. Ichigo's shoulders tensed at that last part as well, and his grip on the eating utensil grew tighter.

"We will, Inoue… We'll do whatever you want to do…" The substitute shinigami mumbled, suddenly feeling very sick. _'I'm out of time…'_

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun," she beamed, giving him a smile he thought he didn't deserve. _'Don't smile at me, Inoue… I didn't do a thing… Don't smile.'_ He thought, now feeling more nauseous. Setting down his fork quickly, he earned a questionable gaze from the healer.

"Not hungry?" She questioned. He shook his head shakily.

"No… I'm just not feeling too good, is all…" He choked, finding it hard to say anything. Why was he even talking to her? He didn't deserve it… After that talk with Tatsuki, he found himself with more questions than answers. Mainly, why wasn't he doing anything about Inoue having to go? Why was he sitting on his ass, watching her cry her way to Soul Society?

"If it makes you feel better, I'm sorta feeling the same way, Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime spoke softly, gaining Ichigo's full attention. "I don't know what you're thinking, but if I know you, you might be blaming yourself for all this…" His stare softened, but he mentally beat himself up for being so open. He really needed to hide his feelings better…

She extended her hand and lay it bravely on his, inciting a bright flush and vivid smile. "Please don't be blame yourself, because you didn't do anything wrong… Besides, it'll be okay in the end, right?"

He stared at her in disbelief. How could she know if it was going to be okay?? She was being ripped from her life in less than 24 hours! Ichigo flipped his hand, so his was grasping hers tightly. Orihime's eyes soon grew wide in surprise.

"And how the hell do you know it'll be okay?" He scoffed, wanting to grip her hand tighter, but held back for fear of hurting her. "Tell me, Inoue, do you really want to go?"

For a brief moment, her big gray eyes showed confusion. "I want to go… I'm okay with going." She replied with a slight tone of hesitation.

"You're lying."

"N-No, I'm not…"

"Yes, you are. I know you don't want to go…"

Orihime bit her bottom lip hard, and her fingers trembled underneath his large hand. "I… I'm telling the truth…" She spoke quietly, her food now forgotten as well. Ichigo sighed heavily, startling the small girl.

"Look… I'm not trying to scare you. Hell, that's the last thing I'd want to do… Just…" He spoke in broken bits, desperately trying to put into words every thought running in his mind. "I don't know who this guy is that you like so much and I'm not going to force you to tell me who it is, but… I do know you don't want to go. You don't want to be away from him…"

"Kurosaki-kun…"

"So don't lie to me… Please."

"… I don't want to go, Kurosaki-kun…" She finally confessed, those dreadful recurring tears showing up again. "But it's what's best for everyone, and that's why I'm going…" Orihime tried to take her hand back, but Ichigo only held onto it tighter.

"You're always like this, you know…" He spoke, his tone growing harsher. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but he wanted her to know she could be happy for herself. He wanted to pound that stupid fact into her head. "You never do what you know will make you happy."

"W-What?" Orihime breathed, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "I-I do to…"

"You're lying again, Inoue… Why can't you just try to do something for yourself for once?"

"B-But what position are you in to say something like that?" Her voice was wavering. He sounded mad, like he wanted a verbal battle, but there was absolutely no way she could go against him. This was the boy she'd fallen in love with, and pledged to love for five lifetimes for goodness sakes!

"I'm your friend, and I'm concerned," Ichigo boldly replied, his grip growing even tighter on the girl's small hand. "I'm not stupid Inoue, I know you're hurting. The only way you'll feel better is if you do something that you want to do. Why not confess to that guy you like? What's holding you back?"

Orihime's eyes grew wide and she immediately pulled her hand back, leaving Ichigo with a confused expression. "Everything!!" The healer let go of built up feelings, tears breaking loose. "I can't confess, Kurosaki-kun. It'd ruin everything!"

"How would it ruin everything?" Ichigo inquired, his curiosity quickly replacing his previous angst. Amber eyes flashed with dangerous emotions, causing Orihime to cower slightly to herself. She quietly sobbed for a few moments, noticing the shinigami's expression had not changed at all. He was more curious about the nonsense she was spouting, than her very obvious pain from the deep wound in her heart. And boy, was he really layering on the salt.

"I-I… I'm not selfish… I won't ruin my friendship with him by confessing, just because I'm going to die-"

"Shut up, you don't know that!"

"But it's true!!" Orihime sobbed, bringing her hands up to her wet cheeks, frantically wiping them away. "I know you're thinking it… Everyone is…"

Ichigo didn't respond, more or less because he knew that thought crossed his mind multiple times. It's not like he wanted her to leave or die, but that awful thought definitely showed up whether he wanted it to or not.

"You said to do what I want, Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime whimpered, standing up abruptly from her chair. "I'm going to keep it a secret… I'll carry it to the grave if I have to." Ichigo's expression managed to soften a bit. "I'd rather die a thousand times than see him hurt from my selfishness."

Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, finishing with one last statement. "And don't tell me he wouldn't hurt, because he would. I know him well, Kurosaki-kun… His heart would hurt because of my stupid desires…" Orihime took in a deep breath before wiping away her tears a final time with her shirtsleeve. "Now if you don't mind… I-I'm going to go see Sora-nii one last time…" And with that, Inoue Orihime disappeared into the hallway, leaving Ichigo in the kitchen alone, brooding over what just happened.

'_What the hell have I done??'_ He inwardly swore, pounding his fist onto the table hard, causing the dishes and cutlery to shake. Ichigo scrunched his eyes together tightly, deciding whether he wanted to block out the sobs coming from the hall or not. _'Dammit… Fuck… I'm such an asshole!'_

The substitute shinigami beat himself up, pounding his fist hard into his leg now. It hurt, but he wouldn't stop… This pain was nothing compared to the shit he'd just put Inoue through.

Ichigo heard clattering and soon a door to slam, quickly making him realize he needed to follow her. He wouldn't follow her because she was a stupid key, but because he hurt her. Badly… And he didn't want her to be in more pain than she already was… Though he really didn't know how bad it was.

Throwing on his coat and shoving on his shoes, he was soon out the door, chasing down that familiar redhead with the calming reiatsu. She wasn't very far ahead, he discovered, as she walked with a slow, trembling pace. Her small, hunched back only made him feel worse. _'What have I done…? She did nothing wrong, and I blew up at her…'_

Ichigo walked behind her for a while, remaining silent. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't muster the courage. He wanted to hit himself again for being weak. He couldn't even give this girl the apology she deserves.

Eventually, he took in a deep, shuddering breath, and started to apologize.

"Inoue, I'm sor-"

"Kurosaki-kun," Orihime stopped him again, as well as stopping in her place. Her shoes made a soft crunch on the new snow. Orihime blew on her cold fingers, regret weighing down her heart. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have gotten to upset."

He froze, replaying her words in his head to make sure he heard right. "Wait… Why are you apologizing??" Ichigo asked, his tone harsher than intended. _'Crap.'_

The auburn-haired teen turned around slowly, a painful smile on her face. _'Smile for him,'_ she told herself, remembering her blonde elder's words. "I was wrong to get so mad. I shouldn't have blown up at you because I'm incapable of doing anything."

"Inoue, why are you saying that? You know you can do so much."

"I couldn't contain my feelings… I can't accept my fate… I could never protect you… I guess I fail as a friend, don't I?" Orihime forced a light laugh in hopes to brighten the already dreary mood.

"No, don't say that. You know it's not true… Inoue, you're a good friend," Ichigo murmured, feeling somewhat funny, not able to explain his sudden boldness. "I wouldn't normally say this, but, uh, I really am glad to have you as a friend…"

And suddenly, Orihime did something that surprised Ichigo. It even caused him to jump a little.

She smiled… And not a phony smile, or just her normal grin, but a bright, wide smile, that caused the boy to turn extremely red. _'H-has… she always been this pretty?'_

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun…" The healer murmured, her eyes shining with compassion and happiness. "I'm so glad you're my friend too…" _'You have no idea how happy I am to have met you…' _Orihime folded her arms behind her back, still smiling at him, giving Ichigo an even hotter face, if possible. The small teen quickly turned around once more and began her trek towards the cemetery her brother was buried in. Ichigo stared at the back of her for a good few minutes, completely dumbfounded. How _he_ of all people managed to get a girl like her as a friend… He'd never know.

Letting his lips curl up into a crooked grin, Ichigo finally managed to move his suddenly heavy legs, along with the weak knees that probably caused the inability to walk. He knew he made a bad move just moments before, but something felt different after the whole thing. He couldn't explain it, and he wouldn't question it either. In fact, he welcomed it… It made him feel closer to Inoue somehow, and secretly, Ichigo kind of liked it.

---

Ichigo was normally surprised by the new things he learned about Inoue, but this was definitely a big one.

"It's the same place…" He mumbled to himself, shoving his large hands into his pockets. Orihime stopped and looked at him confused, her lips puckered into a cute pout.

"Eh? What do you mean?" She inquired, now rubbing her hands together again in an attempt to warm up her hands. Ichigo noticed this, and again, gave her his gloves for her to use. She instantaneously flushed, and quickly stuttered a "thank you…"

"Ah, well… It's just my mom is here too…" The bright haired boy muttered, kneading the back of his neck somewhat nervously. "I didn't think it'd be the same place, is all…"

"Do you mind if I say hello to her?" Orihime asked, a bright smile soon on her face. Ichigo looked at her incredulously, keeping his lips into a tight line. _'Does she really want to talk to mom? I mean… she doesn't know of my family that well… Is she okay with tha-'_

"Oh, I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun! I'm so stupid… Your mother means a lot to you, and of course it's weird for a random friend like me to want to say hello…" She quickly finished, waving her hands around frantically, her eyes full of silent apologies.

"No, it's fine… I'm sure she'd like to meet one of my friends. No one else has ever been here with me before, besides family."

"Not Sado-kun?"

"Nope."

"Not Tatsuki-chan? Kuchiki-san? Or Ishida-kun? Or even Asano-san?"

"No and hell no to the last two. Rukia did come along the one summer… I didn't want her to, but she did anyways."

"Oh…" Orihime pouted again while speaking, her enthusiasm suddenly dropping. _'Of course Kuchiki-san would have seen his mother before. She's a good person, and Kurosaki-kun would've definitely preferred she visit his mother instead of me… I'm stupid.'_

"You okay?" Ichigo inquired, asking that taboo question again after noticing her sudden silence. She nodded dully, bringing up the warm gloves to her cold face.

"Just fine…"

Orihime remained quiet until they got to Inoue Sora's grave, causing Ichigo's ever growing concern to expand further. As soon as they were there, she quickly put on a false smile, (which he definitely noticed), and muttered a hello. The healer folded her hands together and prayed for her brother silently, while Ichigo stared at the headstone, guilt out of no where suddenly weighing him down.

_'Hey… Uh, it's been a while, hasn't it… Sorry about the whole attacking you thing back then…'_ Ichigo thought to Sora silently, rubbing the back of his neck nervously again. _'I… couldn't protect Inoue back then… And I'm really sorry… Because I couldn't protect her again.'_

The substitute shinigami let his gaze wander to the tiny healer next to him, his tense expression softening just by looking at her. Ichigo cleared his throat before looking back at the carefully carved kanji on the stone. _'I don't know what to do, honestly… I know I can't just let her die, but I can't go after her either… Last time I did, things… didn't turn out good.'_

He sighed lightly, shoving his hands back into his pocket once again. _'I wish I knew what you might do… You're her brother, you know what's best for her and what she'd want… Too bad I'm a crappy friend, and can't even figure that much out.'_ Ichigo let his shoe shuffle some snow off to the side as he gave an apologetic stare to the head stone. _'I'm sorry I failed her… And I'm sorry I failed you…'_

"All done, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime chirped, giving the boy a bright smile. He nodded hesitantly, doing his best to hide his guilt. He must have been doing a pretty good job, because she didn't seem to notice. "So off to see your mother?" She asked. He just nodded again.

Ichigo led the way to his mother's grave, his footsteps getting heavier with every step closer to her resting-place. It wasn't long until they got there, and Orihime kept a bright smile on her face. She grinned vividly, and her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. He couldn't tell if it was from the cold or from some embarrassment she had. And her hair framed her face, and a small wind blew a few auburn strands around. His eyes suddenly grew wide, and his fingers began to tremble.

He didn't know what dawned on him, but standing here, just looking at her… His mind finally set into the fact that these were her last hours… She most likely would never see anyone, or him, ever again. Again, he suddenly felt sick, and he kicked loose snow off the ground, all while muttering to her, "I'll be right back…" Ichigo left, leaving Orihime very confused.

He took step after heavy step until he got to a bench under a small covering, so it wasn't covered with snow. Groaning, he let his body collapse onto the seat, and his hand curled into a tight fist. He couldn't tremble, dammit. He couldn't hesitate…

Ichigo finally knew what he wanted.

He wanted her to stay. He wanted her to fucking stay…

Of course he wanted her to stay before, but now… Now he desperately wanted to keep her here. Not have her go to Soul Society, not to the Royal Realm, nowhere… Ichigo wanted her to remain in Karakura, with her neighbors, her friends… with him. "Dammit…" He harshly swore, his heart beating painfully in his chest. Why did it hurt so goddamn much?? She was leaving, and sure they were friends, but it shouldn't ache _this_ much!

His knuckles began turning white, but he didn't care. The fact she would either way never return was finally hammered into his brain, though it was only a small switch that turned on that revelation. If it was so small, why did it hurt…?

Ichigo choked back another groan, leaning forward and propping his arms on his knees. He rested his head in his hands and bit his bottom lip as she often did, truly doing his best to fix his broken feelings.

---

"I'll be right back…" Ichigo muttered, leaving the poor girl very confused. _'Had he gotten sick?' _She wondered, holding back the urge to run to his side and assist him. _'No…'_ Orihime told herself, forcing her body to remain in its spot. She still had to do this.

"Ano, hello Masaki-san… You don't know me, but I'm Kurosaki-kun's friend, Inoue Orihime…" She murmured to his mother, unknowingly giving a conversation to her, just as Ichigo did to her sibling. "I'm sorry for being so sudden, but I just wanted to thank you…" Orihime kneeled down and slowly extending a hand to lightly touch the carved stone.

"You have a wonderful son, Masaki-san… He's kind, caring, and courteous… Despite what others say, he's truly a good person, and no doubt he probably got it from you." She paused for a moment, before suddenly flailing her hands about. "Not that Kurosaki-san isn't nice like him too, but when Kurosaki-kun talks about you, he always has this soft look in his eyes. I've always wanted to ask him more about you, because from what I've heard, you seem amazing, but… I don't want to force him to talk about it if it hurts him somehow."

Orihime paused again and bit her bottom lip again. "Anyways, I wanted to thank you. Maybe you're thinking I'm silly for thanking you for no reason, but I have a very big reason, Masaki-san… I'm very grateful that you brought Kurosaki-kun into this world. You see, I… I'm in love with your son…" She quickly flushed as she spoke, her confession suddenly seeming so bold. "He's a great person, and I'm happy to say that I'm okay with going to the Royal Realm, or even dying… Because I met him, and things were a lot brighter with him around."

Orihime stood back up and gave the headstone a big smile. "So thank you Masaki-san… From the bottom of my heart, I'm truly, truly grateful…"

A gentle wind soon blew around the young healer, causing her to smile wider. She wondered if it was Masaki-san's way of saying something, or maybe she was accepting her as a friend of her son's… She'd never know, but as she turned around and left to find him, very glad she was able to connect with him further, through his mother.

Orihime smiled as she took gentle strides around the cemetery, keeping an eye out for a bright, orange-haired boy that should've clearly been able to distinguish easily due to all the bright snow. Eventually she spotted his bright locks and she picked up her pace, oddly eager to return to his side.

"Hi Kurosaki-kun!" She breathed enthusiastically, quickly at the bench, taking a seat right next to him. She didn't know what had gotten into her, as she purposely sat extra close to him. She could even feel some of his body heat radiating onto her.

He didn't respond, but merely rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. _'… Something's wrong…'_

"Are you okay, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime inquired, changing her tone to a much more concerned one.

"Yeah… Just fine…" Ichigo shrugged, barely able to spit out the words. Orihime remained silent and continued to watch him. She wondered when his back had gotten so big, as he was very hunched over… She knew he was pretty built for a teenager, but he suddenly seemed so… masculine to her. Like the teenage boy she fell in love with changed into a man.

Though the thing that bothered her was that his back was trembling ever so slightly. Her face fell, and she cautiously placed a light hand on his back, in some random attempt to calm him. "You sure?"

The shinigami hesitated, then shook his head subtly, absolutely doing his best to keep his hands from shaking even more.

"Are you cold…?" Orihime both asked and wondered, making a possibility that he was in fact really cold, not upset.

"No…" Ichigo responded gruffly. This left the healer for a lack of ways to help him. Frowning, she quickly sat up and threw her hands into the air.

"Kurosaki-kun, let's get rid of that gloom!! You should smile!" Orihime exclaimed, turning her frown upside down, into a bright smile. "Instead of being sad, you should be happy!" The healer looked to him, and surprisingly, he watched her with a soft, amused expression. Definitely different than the permanent scowl she was expecting. Much different… It even caused her to flush slightly.

"Yeah…" Was all he could mutter back, his gentle smile still etched onto his face. Orihime turned redder, and an idea popped into her head. It was blasphemy, what she was considering requesting, but maybe he'd say yes…

"Kurosaki-kun, can I ask of one last favor? I promise there'll be nothing else I'll ask for, for the rest of the day."

Ichigo's expression turned into a slightly confused one. "Sure… Anything, Inoue…" _'… Anything for you…'_

"Um…" She fidgeted a bit, twisting her fingers around nervously, before looking up to him with big gray eyes. "C-Can I hug you?" Amber eyes grew wide, his face sporting a light pink shade from such a request. But he stopped and remembered his thoughts earlier… _He couldn't say no to her. He wouldn't refuse her._

Ichigo stood up slowly, but surely, before awkwardly extending his arms out. "Um… I'll warn you now… I've never really hugged anyone before…" His hands curled into fists again, and he cleared his throat again. "So I'm sorry if I suck at it…"

Orihime giggled to herself. _'No one could be bad at hugging, Kurosaki-kun… It's just a natural thing.'_ She told him silently, before taking a brave stride before slightly extending her own arms to wrap around his midsection.

She felt bad at first, as soon as she hugged him. He seemed so stiff and appeared that he really didn't want to be there, but he soon melted into the hug. He wrapped his lean arms around her small shoulders, his face eventually burying into her silky, auburn hair. Orihime's cheek rested lightly against his jacket, and she sighed in content. Being in his arms, and him actually accepting it… accepting her… It felt like a dream.

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime muttered into the fabric, her cheeks only heating up slightly. He nodded gruffly into her hair, taking in her oddly addictive scent. It made him curious as to what it was, but then again, the whole smell was making his brain fuzzy, his thoughts muddling together. It felt like he couldn't even put two coherent words together. _'Thank you…'_

Ichigo remained silent, and even managed to hold the girl closer. What was with him? He was in so much pain earlier, which he still questioned, but now… It was like she was within reach, and he felt so much better. It didn't hurt at all… _It didn't hurt. _She started to move away.

"Ah, sorry Kurosaki-kun," She breathed, lightly pushing herself away. "You said it yourself, you're not used to it and here I am, hugging you like there's no end." Orihime pulled herself away, only to be pulled back again. Her eyes grew wide and her face turned extremely hot. He… _He_ willing pulled her back into another hug. Not her, him. "Ku-Kurosaki-kun??"

"Inoue, just… stay like this for a little while longer…" He murmured into her hair, grasping the fabric of her coat tightly. "Please…" The small girl shakily nodded and gripped the front of his coat, fingers trembling in anticipation.

"O-Of course…" The healer stuttered, her face turning brighter. "Anything, Kurosaki-kun…" Since Ichigo's face was buried in her hair, she could feel his lips curl into a small smile, causing her to blush even more.

The two stayed like that for what seemed like forever. Not that Orihime minded of course. In fact, she even pretended for a moment, that he was really in love with her too and they hugged like this all the time. Since he couldn't see her face, she let her lips silently mouth out the words, 'I love you…' Tears stung at her eyes and she sniffed.

"W-We should probably start heading back…" She murmured into his coat, her fingers undecided as to hold onto him tighter, or let go. He hesitated for a moment, before reluctantly loosening his hold on her a bit. Ichigo winced slightly as that pain from earlier started to return.

"Yeah… Probably…" He responded in the same tone, pulling them further apart even more. She looked up to him with big eyes and a smile, tears somehow connecting the two. "You're crying?" She waited a moment before nodding shakily.

"Don't worry," Orihime spoke softly, still smiling. "I'm happy. They're happy tears." She explained, earning a questionable look from the boy. He sighed, feeling deflated, as he brought his thumb up to her face. She jumped a bit, as it was somewhat cold finger wiped away the stray tears.

"Well… As long as you're not depressed," Ichigo grumbled, his thumb wiping the wetness from her face. She gave him that bright smile again, in which he was unable to contain his own from showing.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun…"

"You're welcome… Inoue."

---

Ichigo sat at the kitchen table, completely encased in darkness. He only stared at his right hand, the same one she healed back before she left for Hueco Mundo. He never got an answer from her. An answer to the question, "Why did you heal _me_ before you left?" She had gone to him before she left, and he still couldn't figure out why.

The substitute shinigami let go of a sigh as he ran the hand through his orange locks. He couldn't sleep. He'd try to close his eyes, but _she_ would be there. Inoue would be in his thoughts, smiling all the time. Ichigo let his lips curl up into a smile of his own.

He reflected on the last twenty-four hours with her. It started off bad, with him acting like a jerk and making her cry. The smile soon turned back into a scowl as he kicked himself for doing such a thing. Then they went to the cemetery, both with heavy hearts, but managed to leave with a smile. He made her cry again then too, but she said she was happy… He noticed a recurring theme with his lips. He'd remember, then smile, soon changing to a frown, then a smile again.

Ichigo sighed again, slouching in the chair as he gazed at nothing. He was irritated. He and Inoue were friends, but he knew by now it wasn't normal to be thinking about her this much… Not like thinking of her was a bad thing, but he knew this abundance of thoughts was a bit much. He respected her, and didn't want her to think poorly of him because all he could think of was her-

Crash.

Ichigo snapped up from his seat, startled by the loud noise. Slowly letting his hand curl into a tight fist and began to move towards the place he heard the sound. _'Bet it's probably a fucking thief. Thinks he can get in here and steal Inoue's stuff… Boy, he's as wrong as hell, because I'm not going to let him!'_ Ichigo thought fiercely, his fist clenching tighter.

'_The hall… He's in the hall…'_ He determined, raising his arm, ready to strike. "Take this you thie-" Ichigo started to swing down, but stopped and immediately regretted even bringing up his hand in the first place.

It was Inoue, and she was sitting on the floor. "Inoue…" He breathed, feeling relief that it wasn't anyone else but her. But that relief soon washed away when he noticed her thick tears rolling down her cheeks, and her small form trembled terribly. "I-Inoue, what happened??" Ichigo stuttered, quickly rushing to her side. She bit her bottom lip in attempts to hold back another sob, but it escaped, and more tears rushed down her fragile face.

Ichigo, not thinking of anything else at the time, took her hand in his, holding onto it tightly. Orihime winced and cried harder at his sudden contact, and she pulled her hand away. "Ku-Kur-Kurosaki-kun…" The healer stuttered, clearly in pain. It wasn't long after until he realized the broken picture frame and shards of glass lying next to her were coated with blood. Ichigo's heart dropped and he took her hand again, not holding it this time, but merely looking at it.

Orihime was bleeding, and badly. She somehow cut her palm, probably with the glass. Ichigo quickly pulled her up from her sitting position and dragged her to the bathroom, where he rummaged around her cabinets for gauze or a cloth, or _something_ to help stop the bleeding.

"Fuck…" He grumbled, finding none at the moment. An idea soon popped into the orangette's head, and he snapped his head back to the shaking girl on the floor. "Stay here, Inoue, I'll be right back." She nodded, and he left.

Orihime raised her hand up lightly, completely wanting to ignore the immense shaking. Blood trailed down her palm and onto her arm, ultimately dropping down in small ruby colored drops off her elbow. Her tears were somehow stopping their tirade on her poor eyes, but it still fogged her vision. "I'm so stupid…" She croaked, her voice sore from crying.

Ichigo soon returned with a bundle of something white, his eyes flashing with desperation, frantically wondering what happened to her.

"Inoue… What happened?" The orange-haired boy breathed, applying the white cloth to her still bleeding cut. She eyed the fabric questionably, and Ichigo noticed her continuing gaze. "Oh, uh, one of my shirts…" He replied, answering the question he knew she was thinking.

"The blood stains though…" Orihime murmured quietly, fearing her voice would crack further. Ichigo shrugged and applied some pressure to her wound, causing her to wince again.

"Ah, sorry… And I don't care about stupid stains," he replied, casually wiping away the other dribbling blood on her arm with the other part of the cloth. "I don't want you to be bleeding Inoue."

She continued to watch him slowly and gently take care of her arm, both cleaning and stopping the bleeding.

"You never said what happened."

"… Clumsy, is all."

"And why where you awake?"

"… I couldn't sleep."

Ichigo sighed lightly, feeling somewhat relieved she was actually telling him the truth. At least, from what he could tell. "That makes two of us," he murmured, removing the shirt and assessing the wound. "Still hurt?" Orihime raised her eyebrows in surprise. He had been awake too?

'_What? My heart? Or my hand?'_ She nodded lightly and bit her lip again. His face fell and he lightly blew cool breath onto the cut, hoping it would help relieve the pain.

"Kurosaki-kun… Do you think it's stupid to be scared?" Orihime mumbled, her eyes traveling to his hands. She didn't want to look into his eyes, his beautiful amber eyes, while she felt those darn tears stinging again.

"Of course not, Inoue. It's a natural feeling, fear I mean…" He replied nonchalantly, his thumb lazily moving back and forth against the soft skin on her hand. He stopped, frozen almost, and she noticed his sudden stiffness. "Inoue, you're…"

Nervous gray eyes managed to glide upwards for a moment, catching soft amber ones. "You're scared… aren't you?" Ichigo spoke for her, practically reading her like a book. Orihime's eyes showed more fear, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes again.

"I…" She suppressed a sob, and nodded shakily, before feeling hot tears roll down her cheeks again. "I-I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun, I'm s-so pathetic…" Orihime pulled her hand away and she curled her small form up into a ball, trembling immensely.

Ichigo watched her cry with a heavy heart, secretly damning that returning pain from earlier. She was in his reach again though, maybe, just maybe… He could possibly relieve that hurt again.

"Dammit, come here…" He grumbled, grabbing hold of her tiny arms and pulled her into another hug. "It's okay to be scared, Inoue…" The healer, surprised, tensed up at first from his sudden, compassionate act.

_"I'm afraid of never seeing Kurosaki-kun again…I-I understand that the decision is what'll be best for everyone, but to not see Kurosaki-kun's face, and hear his voice…It's sad, is all…"_

She remembered the words she spoke to her busty friend, feeling completely serious. Herself, Inoue Orihime, was still wavering a bit, but accepted her fate. She was not afraid of what was to come, but afraid of being away from him. The boy she had loved so, _so_ much.

"Ku-Kurosaki-kun…" She slurred, her words garbled from heavy crying. Orihime wrapped her arms around his lean frame and took hold of his shirt, bunching up the fabric in her fingers. "I'm s-sorry…"

"Don't apologize for anything. You haven't done anything wrong, Inoue…" He replied in calm tone, hoping to somehow ease her fear. Ichigo managed to smile lightly, as that stupid pain from earlier was going away. He hugged her again, and he was glad he did. It definitely didn't ache as much, his heart.

"I-I don't want to go…"

"I know…"

"K-Kurosaki-kun… I'm scared…"

His grip on her grew tighter, as that pain suspiciously returned with her tender words. "… I know…" It was like her obvious presence wasn't helping at all… What was this stupid feeling??

Orihime sniffed, tears falling onto his shirt, wetting the fabric. She needed to let go. She was taking advantage of the situation, and she knew very well that the two shinigami would be here to pick her up soon. She had to let go, and let him move on…

But she couldn't…

_"The only way you'll feel better is if you do something that you want to do."_

And that was her logic for hugging him like this. She did feel a bit better after doing what she actually wanted to do. She wanted to hug him, to tell him she loved him, to let him know that her heart would _always_ be his, no matter where she was or what would happen to her.

How Orihime desperately wanted to do all that and more, but she knew she couldn't be _that_ selfish. The boy- no… Man she fell in love with was hugging her on a whim, and she was happy. Yes, wanting more as well, but she kept her lips shut tight about that matter.

Ichigo soon pulled away, leaving Orihime confused and kind of cold.

"You're going to get sick if you're on the floor, Inoue," Ichigo spoke, still sounding calm. He stood up and offered his hand to her, to help her up. She slowly took it with her non-cut hand, and she soon was standing, as he was. The shinigami guided her slowly to the couch, where he made her sit down. He told her he'd be right back, and Orihime was left in the darkness.

She glanced at the illuminated clock on the way, noting the time. _'They said twelve… I'm out of time, Kurosaki-kun…'_ Orihime dully traced the cut on her hand, ignoring the ache she was causing from the touch.

"You never really said how you got hurt," Ichigo commented, soon returning with hands shoved into his pajama pockets. Orihime puckered her lips into a small pout, shifting her gaze up to him slightly.

"Oh… Um, I was trying to get to the bathroom, but my tears… They clouded my vision, and I ran into the wall. And kinda knocked down the picture hanging there too…" She explained quietly, blushing lightly at the lack of space between the two, as he took a seat next to her on the couch. She heard him chuckle a bit, but then he immediately regretted it.

"So it was an act of clumsiness…" He murmured, pulling at his orange bangs lightly. Orihime nodded, cracking an uncomfortable smile. The two sat in silence, with the occasional sound of the healer whipping her hair as she looked to the clock. For some reason, she didn't want him to see her go when she had to.

Ichigo suddenly cleared his throat, and looked off to the side. "U-Um… So… I, erm, knew you really liked that necklace at that jewelry place…" He stuttered, wondering why the hell he was so nervous all of a sudden.

Orihime looked at him with confused eyes, paying full attention to his red face and sideways glance. At least, until he started to pull a small box out of his pocket. Then her stare was averted towards it.

"And so I, uh, kinda got this for you… Something you can remember me- I mean… all of us, by… You know, Tatsuki, Chad… The whole gang," Ichigo awkwardly mumbled, handing her the small, velvety box. Orihime took it slowly out of his hand, her eyes big with embarrassment, confusion, and so many other emotions she couldn't even comprehend herself. She was truly speechless.

She opened the case cautiously, as if it was on fire. Inside the box was the small glass necklace she fell in love with just days before. Why was her voice failing her at this exact moment??

"Y-You like it… Right?" Ichigo worried, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Orihime opened her mouth to speak, but snapped it shut almost immediately. Her eyes welled up with those tears again, and she nodded shakily.

"More than like it…" She breathed quietly, idly fumbling with the box in attempt to retrieve the glass strawberry and its adorning chain. Ichigo swallowed thickly, watching her amazed expression. His lips formed into a small smile, and the nervousness he was feeling before was dissipating.

"I'm glad," Ichigo numbly spoke, watching her in an awed state of his own. Orihime continued to stare at it, smiling at it with a goofy grin, but tears stung at her eyes. Her fingers quivered as she tried to undo the clasp to put it on. Long, tan fingers leaned over by hers, and Ichigo took the necklace out of her hands. "Here, I'll do it. Turn around."

She nodded feebly and did as she was told, still shaking lightly. Orihime pulled her hair out of the way, and she soon saw the glass fruit cross in front of her face, as Ichigo casually placed it around her throat, connecting the clasps together at the end. She held back a gasp as his hot breath fanned over her temporarily naked neck.

"T-Thank you…" She whispered, pulling her hair out of the grasp of the chain, letting her auburn tresses fall over her shoulders again. Turning around, Orihime gave the teen a bright smile, tears still remaining unshed. "Thank you so much, Kurosaki-kun…" He nodded back, giving her a smile as well.

The healer stood up suddenly, causing Ichigo to raise his eyebrows in confusion. "I'll be right back, okay?" Once more, he nodded and Orihime left and retreated to the bathroom, her heart hammering erratically in her chest. Letting her heated gaze travel up to the mirror, soon seeing a familiar blonde standing behind her. She jumped slightly in surprise, but she already knew _they_ were in her apartment. They just remained hidden.

"That was nice of him…" Rangiku spoke softly, giving the girl a smile. Orihime nodded and adored the strawberry.

"Sorry I took longer than planned."

"It's fine. I didn't want to ruin the moment anyways."

"So will he see me leave then…?" Orihime asked almost inaudibly, tracing the outline of her fresh wound again. The blonde shook her head.

"He actually fell asleep as soon as you left. Poor boy was probably tired," Rangiku replied, folding her arms under her heavy chest.

"Well it _is_ late…" The healer mumbled, hesitating a bit before resuming. "Can I have a few more minutes? I promise it won't take very long." The busty shinigami nodded a final time before leaving the small room.

Orihime sighed lightly and quickly wrapped some gauze over her cut, along with some tape, before shutting off her bathroom light for the last time. She took quiet strides toward the boy asleep on her couch. The healer contemplated whether to sit down or stand up. Eventually she decided to sit next to him. The slight movement caused the substitute shinigami to stir a bit, rolling his head to the side, ultimately facing her, although sleeping.

"Thank you for everything, Kurosaki-kun… I really did love spending time with you…" The girl spoke softly to his large, slumbering form. A small smile crept up her face as she talked. "I'm not going to leave with a long speech like I did last time, but… I did want to say thank you… And that what you've done for me the last few days made me fall in love with you even more."

She stopped and stared at his expression. His eyebrows furrowed, and his lips lightly smacked together before taking in a shuddering breath. The smile she had before grew a bit bigger.

"So… See you in the next lifetime… Kurosaki-kun."

Orihime drew her body closer to his, her lips barely over his once more, just like that night, hovering over his lips. But she wasn't going to do that again. She brought her lips to his forehead, and planted a small kiss on the skin. The healer remained like that for a few moments before pulling away, exhaling shakily. She'd definitely grown more courageous, she noted. And it was all thanks to him.

Inoue Orihime slipped out into the night with Matsumoto Rangiku and Hitsugaya Toshiro, now completely accepting of her fate. She disappeared entirely, unknowing of how much she'd truly be missed.

And when Ichigo was to wake the next morning, she'd be no where to be found.

---

* * *

_:) R & R, bitte~_


	7. dIV Kiemasu

_So this chapter wasn't as long as the others, but I had a really hard time stretching it. DX I actually had to rewrite a good chunk of it, since it was really wiiierd. XD (I even got confirmation from copper that it was bad, lol.) So I ended up throwing another fail Rangiku/Hime scene, that I really think I should take out, but I'll keep because it makes the chapter longer. D: Oh, and next chapter will prolly be shorter too, since it'll still be day IV(four XD), cuz I just haaaaaad to leave a cliffy at the end of this one. :3 Anywho, enjoy the chapter! Thank you so much for all of your reviews, I luff you all so much~)_

_**.disclaimer. I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.**_

_**.chapter title. **Disappear  
_

* * *

---

He thought he would get lucky. That by some chance, some random, glorifying chance, she'd still be there when he woke up. His amber eyes would slowly flutter open and reveal the small, frail girl sleeping on the same couch, huddled into a small ball. Then he'd really believe that dreams came true.

But it wasn't such the case. Ichigo's eyes snapped open, opposite of fluttering, and his head jerked to his side, the place he hoped she'd be.

But she wasn't. He was alone. And it didn't take him very long to get off the piece of furniture to search the rest of her apartment. Kitchen, bathroom, her bedroom. Every space was just as empty as before.

Carelessly letting his previously hopeful body collapse onto her bed, he suddenly found it hard to breathe. _'… She's really gone…'_ It didn't help matters that the pain in his heart from yesterday had reappeared.

Ichigo slowly lifted his right hand to his face and stared at it unemotionally. _The same hand he felt her reiatsu the night she left for Hueco Mundo._ Maybe he was in a state of desperation, he didn't know. He brought his palm to his forehead, and rested it there, intently searching for her reiatsu, knowing very well it wouldn't be there.

"How…" He grumbled to himself, his fingers clasping his orange locks tightly. _'How the hell can I go to school when I know she's not there??' _He was so used to going, and one of the first things he'd see would be her. Inoue's toothy grin, her slightly flushed cheeks, and her bright, big gray eyes. He groaned, now wondering if things could ever be the same again. _'… Probably not…'_

Ichigo let his emotionless eyes stare at the white wall, his mind running with thoughts of her. Nothing else, only her…

_"I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun… If only I was stronger, I could've stopped this!" Orihime spoke, her voice tinged with bitter pain. She truly felt upset about not being able to protect her friends._

"_Don't worry, Inoue. And don't apologize either. You did the best you could…" He replied, wanting to comfort her. Ichigo never thought of her as weak. So what if she didn't like to fight? That only made her stronger. The road of pacifism was a long and hard one to travel, but she would never care, and she'd travel it anyways. She'd rather fix problems with kind and gentle words, not with fighting and pain._

The substitute shinigami let his lips curl up into a small smile at her bravery. Though she might not think it, and he would probably never say it, he truly thought she was stronger than he was. She'd gone to Hueco Mundo and back, almost the equivalent of hell, and she still managed to smile.

Though he soon frowned as he remembered that bastard Yammi, and how he carelessly smacked Inoue around like she was a doll. She didn't do anything wrong, and she still got hurt. She was always getting hurt, and even if it was his fault, she wouldn't let him apologize for it. He really did want to apologize to her, and promise to protect her better, back then. But he was in a moment of weakness, and needed Rukia to kick his ass to get him back on his feet.

Ichigo's downward stare fell to the floor, as his heart grew heavier. He promised to protect her, but she still got taken to Hueco Mundo anyways… He wasn't there when she needed him most. Where the hell was he? Because every time she needed his help, he was off somewhere else. Groaning in frustration, Ichigo pounded his fist into the springy mattress.

_"HELP ME KUROSAKI-KUN!!" Orihime's voice screamed out, her tone apparent with despair and pain._

Ichigo could barely remember it, as all he could feel at the time was pain, but felt nothing at the same time. His mind was fogged up as he heard her desperate cry, but he knew he needed to help her.

'_I can hear her… She's calling me… Stand up! I will protect her!!'_

He somehow managed to muster the strength to think, and even more power to assist her. The shinigami clenched his fist tighter, wishing he could've seen what happened. Everything blacked out after then, and when he came to, Inoue had tears in her eyes and was frightfully pale. Ishida was even worse, as his own Zangetsu had impaled him through the stomach.

Ichigo took a deep breath and managed to calm down some from his self-frustration, as he remembered what else had happened in that place. He picked her up… Although it probably wasn't the most gentle of lifting, she seemed more preoccupied with the idea that she was too heavy for him to be lifting. He could still remember the faint, burning touch from her hands on his clothes, her fingers quivering from the sudden surprise of him picking her up.

"_What, is something wrong?"_

"_I-I'm… heavy…"_

"_Oh, don't worry, you're not as heavy as I thought you'd be."_

Why he had to phrase it like that, he had no clue. There were times Ichigo let his mind wander, occasionally thinking, _'I wonder what it'd be like to pick her up…'_ Granted, those were some of his lower moments, and he'd later beat himself up for thinking such a stupid thing.

So, still, he wished he'd rephrased it better, instead of saying, "Don't worry, you're not as heavy as I thought you'd be." Maybe he wouldn't have gotten hit where it hurt the most by Nel.

Nel… Despite what they two probably thought, he could hear almost every word they were conversing on top of that broken building. He heard Nel's cries, telling Inoue that he was fighting and getting hurt for her, but she was still afraid. Hell, she had every reason to be afraid. He looked frightening in his mask.

But she still called out to him.

_"Don't die, Kurosaki-kun! You don't have to win… You don't have to keep fighting any more… Just please don't get hurt…"_

Ichigo smiled slightly as he remembered her heartfelt concern over him. She always seemed to be concerned over him. Amber eyes flashed back to his hand again, Ichigo's mind dawning on a new revelation.

Everything she's done, every time he saw her, she always seemed to be genuinely concerned for him. It was like _he _was her drive when she wanted to do something. His cheeks grew hot at the new possibility.

He promptly snuffed out the idea, as he was one hundred percent sure she'd never do, never feels _that _for him. It was impossible…

A heavy knock disturbed the orangette from his thinking, making him drag his weary body off of her bed and to the front door. He really didn't want to answer it. Whoever was there was here to see Inoue, the woman who would not be here. Turning the handle slowly, Ichigo felt his face contort to a tense expression.

And to his surprise, Rukia stood at the door of Inoue's apartment.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo grumbled, tempted to slam the door in her face. Rukia stepped into the flat, a small bounce in her step.

"I'm here to visit, what do you think?" she spoke almost tonelessly, her eyes wandering the apartment. "… She's gone?"

Slowly letting the door close shut, Ichigo kept quiet, his hand folding into an all-familiar fist. He could think it, and he could hear it, but he didn't want to say it. Saying that she was gone would only mean he accepted her absence.

"Ichigo… I know it's hard for her to be gone, but you need to accept it…"

"It's sort of hard to accept her being… you know… When I have this fucking pain in my chest as a reminder, Rukia," Ichigo replied dryly, emphasizing her name at the end. Rukia crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg.

"Pain? Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events…" The small woman mused, a small smile playing on the edge of her lips.

"Can't you ever shut the hell up? And what the fuck do you want? I'm not in the mood for your childish games…" he grumbled, letting his body collapse again on the couch. Again, his knuckles were turning dangerously pale, but the pain in his hands was nothing to the feeling in his heart.

"You're annoying. I come to visit you, and you're just going to sit on your ass and remember the better times," Rukia scoffed, her small eyebrows furrowing with purple irises flashing with dangerous emotions.

"Yes, Rukia, I'm going to sit on my ass and remember, because it's sure as hell better than not remembering her at all."

"Inoue wouldn't want you to be brooding over this. You know she'd want you to be happy, so don't spout nonsense to me that she wouldn't."

'Damn…' She had him there.

"I'm going to brood over it, dammit, whether you're… right or not," Ichigo murmured, finding it hard to accept that the conniving woman next to him was right for once. He remained silent for a few minutes, and Rukia kept quiet as well, before Ichigo folded his hands together and pulled his lips into a tight line. "You know, I'm feeling kind of bothered by something, and I don't know why…"

"And what's that?"

"… Inoue didn't even say goodbye…" Amber eyes fell to the floor, defeated. "I mean, if she didn't want to, and made her happy, then fine, but… It hurts that she would do that again…" Ichigo's eyes snapped up to Rukia's momentarily, emotions of hurt and question. "I mean, you know how she healed my hand the first time! You think she would've woken me up or something to tell me good bye." He paused, suddenly feeling very awkward. "Wow, I sound insane…"

"Yeah, you do," Rukia spoke firmly, a smirk on her face. "And you're the stupidest person I've ever met."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean??" Ichigo yelled, suddenly full of vigor again, but he soon fell back onto the cushions again. "You know, whatever… I don't give a damn…"

Rukia's sneer grew wider._ 'It's like he's completely hopeless without her.'_ She mused inwardly.

"So she was in your room before she left for Hueco Mundo, and healed your injuries. What does that tell you?" She asked, promptly taking a seat next to the orangette.

"… Nothing?"

"No, you idiot!" Rukia yelled, giving Ichigo a hard slap on the back of the head. "If you remember right, people were still hurt after the incident with the Arrancar, people she knew. No one else was healed fully, so why did she choose you, out of all these others, to heal?"

The substitute shinigami remained silent, his eyes fluttering closed with a deep frown engraved in his features.

"And dammit Ichigo, you _know _Inoue. She'd never leave without saying something first!" Rukia scoffed, giving him another punch in the arm. Somewhere deep inside, Ichigo felt that possibility from earlier bubble up. Maybe it wasn't such a crazy theory… Maybe she really did have feelings for him.

Despite there being more evidence than before, he squished that idea again. He didn't want to seem overly hopeful on something that still probably wouldn't be true.

"So are you done sulking?" Rukia brought Ichigo out of his thinking again; his cheeks lightly flushed from his stupid 'possibilities'. "I have Chad and Renji waiting outside."

"What, you brought those two along so we can all walk happily together to school? Maybe skip, even?" Ichigo scoffed, somewhat tempted to look out the window and determine if they were actually there or not.

"Actually, we're going to Soul Society. Quite honestly, I would've gone without your sorry ass, but Chad insisted on informing you."

Ichigo snapped his head towards her, eyes big. "W-Wait, what do you mean?"

"Unlike you, who's sitting on his stupid butt and wallowing in self-pity, we're going to rescue Inoue. She's my friend, and I'm not going to stand by and watch her lose everything she holds dear to her," Rukia explained, standing up while putting her hands on her hips. "So unless you're going to be annoying and tag along, I'm leaving. We don't have much time."

Ichigo stood up quickly, his eyes still as big as saucers. "Y-You're going to save Inoue?"

"I just said that, idiot," Rukia growled, pulling the familiar door open. "See ya."

"No, wait!" Ichigo yelled out to her, stopping her in her tracks. Rukia kept her back to the boy, and wore a sly smile on her face. "I want to go to! No, I-I need to go, I owe it to her!"

"Ichigo," Rukia spoke clearly. "You've always gone after friends because you've wanted to protect them, but I'm not going to let you come along if that's your reason this time. If you want to go after her, your excuse needs to be bigger than 'she is a friend', because she's more than that. She's more than a friend to all of us, Ichigo."

Ichigo gulped, his mind flying to ideas for a reason to want to go after his friend. No, she was right, she wasn't just a friend… "W-well, what's your reason?" He inquired, wanting to gauge her reasoning.

"Inoue's become one of my greatest friends. I could probably even say she's my best. And if she is, I'm not going to sit on the sidelines and watch." Rukia turned around with sharp eyes. "What's your reasoning, Ichigo?"

Dumbfounded, Ichigo's hard gaze fell to the floor, suddenly finding the carpet very interesting. _'I want Inoue here… It wouldn't be the same without her…' _He swallowed thickly, discovering it was getting harder to breathe. _'I… wouldn't be the same without her.'_

And then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Feeling beaten, he brought his hand up to face, choking back a groan. Tatsuki was right. All along, she'd been right.

_"Fix that stupid wiring in your brain, idiot… And quick... Before you realize what you want is already gone."_

Ichigo thought he wanted her to stay, but he was wrong. Oh, so wrong. He didn't want just her to stay. He wanted _her._

He wanted that bright, vivid smile of hers to belong to him and him only. Her bright gray eyes that shone like the sun; he wanted them to only look at him, and he'd vow to never let tears fall from them again.

_'I… I think I lov-'_

"Figure it out yet?" Rukia snapped him out his deep thoughts yet again, inciting a quick growl from the boy. Ichigo looked towards the shinigami with fire and determination in his eyes.

"I think so… I think I have it all figured out now."

"Okay… And what do you have figured out?"

Ichigo smirked, pulling his shinigami badge out of his pocket. "None of your damned business. Now let's go save Inoue."

---

Orihime gazed emotionless at the large mirror in front of her. For the time being, they put her in a luxurious room with tall walls and multitudes of mirrors. The room was full of colors, but inside she felt nothing. It was as if the moment she stepped into Soul Society, all her feelings had disappeared. She even questioned her memories from the last few days, as they all seemed so dreamlike, compared to her current predicament.

"You look good!" Rangiku exclaimed, suddenly bursting into her room. Orihime, feeling quite out of it mentally, didn't bother to turn around and greet her friend. It seemed like a burden to force happiness, when she clearly was far from happy.

"I guess…" She mumbled, smoothing out the fabric. Soul Society had given her special to clothes to change into, saying the fabric helped bring the Key's reiatsu up to it's maximum potential. Her maximum potential.

It was simply, really. It was a small white dress that appeared to be made out of something like silk. The fabric was a bit longer than she was, thus being too long for her, but her bare toes still peaked out from under the fabric. A slit went up middle of the fabric in front, exposing her smooth legs with the slightest turn. The top portion of the dress had dropping sleeves, falling off her shoulders, and leaving her soft, pink skin revealed. The snuggest part of the outfit was the area around her chest. It was apparently supposed to be loose and/or formfitting, but they made a mistake on size judgment and it was just a bit tight. She was lucky it wasn't like that for the entire thing, and the fabric was fitted to be loose and billowy at the hem under her generous chest.

The shinigami that handed her the clothes told her she'd need to remove everything on her person, but she refused to take off the necklace with her precious strawberry on it. It was the only thing that reminded her everything that had happened in the last few days was real.

"Orihime-chan…" Rangiku sighed, soon behind the young teen. "I'm sorry for what's happened."

"You don't need to apologize. It's not your fault," Orihime spoke quietly and tonelessly. Her eyes held no emotion in them, causing somewhat of a worry in her blonde elder. Rangiku put her hands on Orihime's small shoulders, her thumb lightly moving back and forth against her skin, as if a sign of comfort.

"Yamamoto-sotaichou and the rest of the captains are ready to see you, Orihime-chan…" She spoke again, hoping she wouldn't respond as blankly as before. Orihime merely nodded, closing her eyes slowly. For a brief second, Rangiku could've sworn she saw a flash of pain go through her gray eyes, from the reflection of the mirror. Immediately she felt worse, but she still took the small girl's hand and lead her to her ultimate fate.

---

"Inoue Orihime, do you know why you are in front of us today?" Yamamoto's voice bellowed out into the captain's hall. Ten people, the captains, all looked towards the auburn-haired healer, who merely kept her hands folded together in front of her, her face with no expression at all.

"Yes, sir… The decision for the Royal Key, which is inside me," Orihime spoke dully, doing her best not to tremble with fear. She swallowed hard before saying the last part. "… Has been made."

"Yes. Now tell us. Has Kurosaki Ichigo done his job as a your bodyguard for the last three days?" Yamamoto now inquired, slightly rising an eyebrow.

Orihime gave a pregnant pause again before speaking. "Y-Yes sir. Under his watch, I wasn't hurt."

"Then what's with the wrapping around your hand?"

"Um, clumsy mistake… I accidentally cut myself on glass, but he helped me clean it up almost immediately."

Few, interesting glances were exchanged throughout the room, but Orihime kept her focus on the head captain at the front of the room. Yamamoto nodded.

"Very well… Inoue Orihime, from previous and thorough discussion between Soul Society representatives and the Soul King, the decision has been made for how the Royal Key should be handled," the head captain stood up as he spoke, clearly pronouncing every word clearly to the teen. "You will be sent to the Royal Realm to perform your duties there and you will leave through the Golden Gate at midnight tonight."

Inoue Orihime didn't show it, but her heart broke on the inside. _'So I'm going to suffer with my feelings for the rest of my life…' _For a brief moment, she thought she would've preferred to die. That way she wouldn't have to feel so much painful longing for Kurosaki-kun for the rest of her life.

She blinked slowly before showing big, very nervous gray eyes to the ten people in the room. Her tongue stuck out for a brief moment, licking at her dried lips before saying two last words.

"… Yes sir…"

---

"So let me get this straight… They're keeping Inoue in Soul Society for twenty-four hours before they send her to god knows what?" Ichigo asked harshly, doing his best not to smack the smaller woman running by his side. She ran at a leisurely pace, despite the fact it was she that said there wasn't much time.

It had already taken Urahara almost 3 hours to set up the Senkaimon they used before, when getting Rukia the first time, and now she was running like they had all the time in the world!

"She just said that, dumbass! Geez, you need to clean your ears out…" The tall, redhead punched the substitute hard, causing a yelp of pain from the boy.

"Dammit, Renji, this isn't the time to be punching people!" Ichigo retorted, now doing his best not to punch both of them. He wanted to get to Soul Society. He wanted to get to Inoue.

"If you listened to Rukia better, I wouldn't have to punch you! We shouldn't have to tell you twice about all this!"

"I'm not asking you to tell me everything again, I'm just confirming!"

"…" Chad remained silent as he ran, soon pointing to what appeared to be the exit. "We're here…"

"Finally…" Ichigo groaned, also seeing the light at the end. They continued running until they were in a field of flowers, which was very unfamiliar to all of them. "Aw, dammit, now you got us lost! We'll never reach Inoue in time!"

"Ichigo, look…" Chad murmured, pointing a large finger towards a suddenly familiar house. "Isn't that…"

Ichigo deadpanned, his expression falling. "Oh, hell no…" Rukia's mouth opened in awe.

"Oh, that's the Shiba house…"

Ichigo promptly brought his hand up his face, resulting in a loud slap sound. This was the last place he wanted to be right now. If he remembered Kukaku, she'd keep them there and talk to them for hours. On any other given circumstance, he'd gladly stay and chat (not), but he really had to go.

"We should just get out of here while we can…" Ichigo grumbled, itching to head the opposite direction as fast as possible. Rukia continued to stare at the house with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"No, wait Ichigo… I have an idea," she muttered, soon taking off towards the house at top speed. The others had no choice but to follow along, although Ichigo was really tempted to leave them all there. He wanted to rescue Inoue, not drink tea with old buddies… Or maybe in Kukaku's case, sake.

Rukia was pounding on the door of the Shiba's house when the other three caught up to her. It wasn't long after when Kukaku answered the door, a very, very pissed expression on her face.

"For the last, goddamned time, we're NOT open on-" Kukaku yelled, but immediately stopped when she saw the unfortunately familiar black-haired woman that was knocking on her door. "It's you…" She grumbled. Rukia wanted to look at the ground, feeling returning shame from killing their brother, but she kept her hard gaze on the woman.

"Shiba-san, we need your help…"

---

Orihime sighed, her stare focused on the soon setting sun outside her window.

"It's no different…" She murmured to herself, pulling nervously at her dress. Inwardly, she tried to compare the differences between her stay in Hueco Mundo, and here. At the moment, she found absolutely none. Her heart gave a heavy lurch as tears burned in her eyes.

Taking in a shuddering breath, she let the hot tears roll, her body beginning to shake hard with nervousness. She'd tried her best to hold back her feelings while in this place, whatever emotions she had left after entering this place. But it was apparently too much for her, and her body broke down, jerking at every sob.

"I-I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime stuttered to no one. "I-I guess I c-can't see you in the next lifetime… Because I don't get another…"

The healer sat silently, letting quiet salty drops fall down her face. She closed her eyes and pictured his cute, scowling face, orange hair falling awfully low over the burning amber eyes she loved so much. And just then, his expression would go from annoyed, to amused, just like the look he gave her the day before. A small, soft, but very sincere smile graced his lips, and his eyes still burned with intensity, but it wasn't just resolve and determination. She would picture his eyes full of intense love, and he'd open his mouth ever so slightly, and whisper those three words she'd want to hear.

Long eyelashes fluttering open slowly, tears continued to dribble down her red cheeks, eventually travelling down to her exposed neck._ 'I'm so stupid…'_ She let herself think, wallowing in hurt. Orihime let herself fall sideways onto the large couch and closed her eyes quickly once more.

She knew she daydreamed. Most of it was purely accidental, but there were times where she felt like she hurt so much, she wanted to escape to a temporary fantasy. Now shouldn't be one of those times, she reasoned, but she couldn't help herself.

Her eyelids felt heavy as she pictured Kurosaki-kun in front of her. He was in his bankai shihakusho, and he seemed to be somewhat fatigued, but he smiled. Seeing his own grin made Orihime curl her lips upwards as well. Never would she have thought that he came after her, but here he was in front of her, proving her wrong.

She mouthed his name, causing his smirk to grow wider. He extended his hand out to her, and with soft eyes, he said,_ 'Let's go home, Inoue…'_

But she immediately regretted daydreaming at all. Once eye her eyes opened again, the tears fell onto the couch, melting into the fabric.

Grabbing onto a cushion desperately and holding it close, Orihime choked back another sob. _'Yep… Definitely stupid…'_ Hearing another knock, she again made no attempt to greet her guest. She merely flipped onto her other side and held the pillow tightly.

"Orihime-chan?"

It was Rangiku again.

"W-What is it?" Orihime squeaked quietly, truly trying her best to shove her feelings back down. So far down, they could never bubble up again, making her feel almost emotionless. At least it didn't hurt so much that way.

"Orihime-chan, I… I didn't want you to be alone," Rangiku spoke softly, sitting on the edge of the couch. Orihime felt the springs of the furniture pull down with the weight. She only responded by curling into a ball. "I'm sorry, Orihime-chan."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for…" The healer replied, her response muffled by the cushion.

"Let me apologize anyways. Surely you've apologized a lot yourself, hm?" Orihime's face turned a bit red as she silently agreed to her friend's statement.

"… So why are you here again?" Orihime asked in a hushed tone, her fingers itching to hug her friend. She refrained from doing so though, since she was leaving soon. If she hugged her now and poured her heart out once again, as she did before, her busty friend would only feel more guilt later.

"I didn't want you to be alone… Goodness knows it can be scary being alone in such a big room like this," Rangiku explained, lightly placing a hand on Orihime's bare foot, as a sign of comfort. "… Wanna talk about anything?"

Orihime's form curled up tighter, and the shinigami heard a muffled and hesitated, "…No…"

"You sure?"

Again, Orihime hesitated, biting her bottom lip as she forced those rising feelings to stay down. "…No…"

"Aw, Orihime-chan, you can talk to me about anything! Wait! Do you want me to go get you some ice cream, with pickles and red bean paste?" The elder goaded, trying to tempt her and lure the healer out of her shell. Her form remained still.

"I'm not hungry…" She mumbled, hugging the pillow even tighter.

"You didn't eat earlier, when was the last time you ate?"

Orihime shyly peaked out from under the fabric of the cushion, her face slightly red. "Um… two days ago… I think? I still drank water though…"

"Two days? Two days?! Good lord, no wonder you're so frightfully skinny!" Rangiku exclaimed, throwing her hands onto the small girl's waist, pinching her sides lightly. Orihime managed to crack a small, weak smile at her friend's attempt to cheer her up.

"I know, I'm sorry…" She confessed, now drawing imaginary circles on the cloth. "I just… felt sick every time I looked at the food." Rangiku shrugged and patted her lightly on the back.

"You have to eat something though. Otherwise you'll pass out."

Orihime nodded, and on cue, her stomach gave a loud grumble, causing the girl to turn bright red. Rangiku laughed, and promptly stood up.

"That's it, I'm getting you your ice cream," she spoke between chuckles. "And sake. Loooots of sake! And when I get back, you and I are going to have girl talk." Orihime managed to smile a bit bigger, and Rangiku quickly left.

_'Rangiku-san's so wonderful… I really do have good friends…'_ Orihime thought, playing with the fabric of her dress again._ '… Too bad this will be the last time I see them…'_

Rangiku returned with Orihime's promised ice cream, and lots of sake. Somehow, she managed to calm down enough, and didn't get sick at the sight of her food. Smiling, the healer ate bite after bite of her absolutely delicious frozen treat, when Rangiku popped a surprise question on her.

"So did Ichigo finally realize his undying love for you?"

Orihime didn't know whether she was choking or having a brain freeze from eating too big a bite during the asking of that question. Probably both, she concluded.

"W-What?? K-Kuro- Rangiku-san, no! O-Of course he wouldn't!!" Orihime stuttered, taking long pauses in between to hold her freezing head. Rangiku grinned and poked at the girl's side.

"He bought you the necklace, come on, spill! Tell me what else he did!" She prodded and poked, wanting a juicy answer from the smaller teen. Orihime took another big bite of her snack before answering.

"H-He… hugged me… er, I hugged him the first time, but he hugged me the second time…"

A squeal of delight startled the poor redhead, causing her to almost fling her bowl of ice cream onto the brightly colored wall.

"So how did it happen? Tell me!" Rangiku pleaded, taking a large sip of her sake and pouring another cup.

"I-I… just asked him if I could have a hug, is all…" Orihime muttered, embarrassed. Her face was growing hotter by the minute, and if it weren't for the cold food, it'd probably be even hotter.

"And he didn't say no?? Well, if that isn't a sign of accepting your dying love, then I don't know what is…" Rangiku blanched, lazily taking another sip, before pulling out another cup and forcefully handing it to the younger girl. "Here, in celebration."

Orihime's gray eyes looked at the blonde questionably. "Celebrating what?" She asked. Rangiku smirked as she poured a bit of sake for the underage teen.

"Good question… Never mind, just take a sip. Think of it as a farewell gift."

"Oh, so it's a goodbye thing now?" Orihime questioned, taking a small sniff of the alcohol. Rangiku nodded, still grinning.

"Yuuup, now drink, drink, drink!" Rangiku commanded, soon swigging the rest of her own. Orihime laughed lightly, and somewhat awkwardly, as the obvious thought crossed her mind. _'Rangiku-san's drunk.'_ Taking a deep breath, the healer soon a sip of the stinky smelling stuff, soon gagging from the burning sensation she got after drinking.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Orihime questioned, trying to speak though it sort of hurt to speak. Rangiku nodded again.

"It's only one sip… Plus, it has no affect on reiatsu or anything, so the Key shouldn't be harmed at all," she explained, swirling her cup around lightly. "Ah, that reminds me."

"Eh?"

Rangiku soon held up her glass and smiled. "Orihime-chan's a woman now. You've grown up, and I really am proud of you."

"Wait… Is this a congratulations instead?"

"I guess, just put your glass up."

Laughing lightly, she did as she was told, and put her cup up, as she was told. And as Rangiku rambled on, cracking jokes to herself, Orihime's smile faded a bit. She enjoyed her friend's company, she really did. But she couldn't help be feel down as the bitter thought crossed her mind.

_'This could very well be the last time I'm happy.'_

Hearing Rangiku finish her mindless talking, she soon forced a hearty smile back to the shinigami.

"Thank you, Rangiku-san."

---

The full moon shone brightly on the many souls present in the field. Orihime wiggled her toes in between the grass strands, finding it hard to contain her worry. All captains were nearby, all watching with different expressions. Some looked at her in pity; some looked at her proudly, like she was doing a good thing for Soul Society.

Letting go of a nervous sigh, Orihime fidgeted lightly as she and the rest of the authority figures waited for the head captain to arrive. One he would come, the ceremony to bring Inoue Orihime to the Royal Realm would begin.

She looked at the large, Golden Gate in front of her, noticing its odd glow. It sort of reminded her of the light orange glow from her own Shun Shun Rikka.

It wasn't long until they saw the familiar head captain coming up the hill, his vice-captain at his side.

"Inoue Orihime, are you ready to leave for the Royal Realm?" Yamamoto's voice bellowed out as he marched closer.

_'You'd send me even if I wasn't ready…'_ She thought bitterly to herself. Giving them a shaky nod, Orihime took a step forward, slowly getting closer to the glowing entrance.

"Very well then… Inoue Orihime, once you get to the Royal Realm, you will immediately be taught on your duties. You will also be informed of how to control the Key better, and within time, you should be able to use it's power as your own," the old man informed the small teen, his voice very intimidating. Again, she gave a shaky nod and stepped forward again.

"… Yes sir…"

Her body tingled with worry and nervousness as tears stuck to her eyelashes. She brought her hands to her stinging eyes, wiping away the salty drops from her vision. Taking in a shuddering breath, she thought of him as a way to calm down. A small, sad smile graced her lips as she took the final step towards the gate.

"I'll be going now…" Orihime muttered, bunching up the fabric of her dress in her fingers. "Ja ne…"

"Like hell you're not!"

She froze, sending a shock down her spine hearing that voice._ 'It couldn't be! H-He'd never come here!'_ Orihime turned around slowly, fearful what she'd just heard was her imagination, and that her mind was just playing tricks on her.

But he was real. Orange hair, smoldering amber eyes, tall, wearing a black shihakusho, and a small, familiar smirk.

"Hey Inoue."

---

* * *

_R & R, pleeeease. XD_


	8. dIV Daijoobu Desu

_Lol, my brain's exploded/ing from writing so much. XD I'm going back to school this week, so I apologize if chapters come out later now... D: And I know I should work on Heartbeat, but I'm tempted to do it after I finish this... Eh, we'll see. XD But I think ya'll will like this chapter, though if you thought it was too fast, complain to copper. D8 SHE WANTED THAT SCENE! (I'm not going to say, I'm just going to let you read.) Nah... But I do hope it wasn't too fast for your tastes. D:  
_

_**.chapter title.**__It's all right._

_**.disclaimer. I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.  
**_

* * *

---

"_Hey Inoue…"_

"Ku-Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime breathed, taking in the sight of his lean form, the moonlight reflecting almost beautifully on his figure. She had to rub her eyes multiple times to make sure she wasn't imagining things again. A smile trembled on the edge of her lips, her heart soaring over the fact that he was really here. Oh, how his voice sounding so amazing to her ears.

His smirk grew wider and his gaze softened at the girl momentarily, before giving a murderous glare at the captains standing behind her. "Inoue, get away…" Ichigo commanded her, keeping his hard stare on the traitors beyond her figure.

"Kurosaki-"

"What do you think you are doing here, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Yamamoto questioned, his tone harsh as he cut off Orihime and struck his large cane down onto the soil. "If you're thinking of saving Inoue Orihime, it is too late. She has already made her decision and she is one of us."

Ichigo flinched noticeably at the last part of his statement, soon causing much worry in the young healer in front of the gate. He really didn't like hearing that phrase. _'She is one of us…'_ It made him feel like he'd already failed her. Taking in a deep breath, Ichigo quickly rebounded from his faltering determination.

"Inoue doesn't belong to anyone," The substitute growled, the grip on his zanpaktou growing tighter. "Not you… Not me… No one."

'_Kurosaki-kun…'_ Orihime thought softly, clutching the cloth of her dress tightly, the silky feeling fabric burning under her fingertips in anticipation of the unfolding scene.

"That may be, but you coming here has been in vain, Kurosaki Ichigo. She is leaving now," Yamamoto replied, pointing a bony finger towards the gate. "Inoue Orihime, go, now!"

The healer jumped at his request, and took a shaky step forward, only to be stopped by Ichigo's voice. "I already told you, you're not leaving!" He yelled, flash-stepping towards the girl's side moments after. She quickly flushed at his sudden proximity, quietly stuttering his name.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, if you do not get away from her now, you will be arrested for treason," the head captain responded with just as much vigor, his gray eyebrows arched deeply with fury. Carelessly, he motioned his hand to Kenpachi, silently ordering him to move in on the hot-blooded teen. Sporting a big grin, the captain excitedly took a step closer.

"Give me all you've got Ichigo!" Kenpachi yelled enthusiastically, drawing his sword from his side, a huge smile etched into his face.

"Kurosaki-kun, you have to leave, please!" Orihime whimpered, her voice gradually getting louder. "Before you get hur-"

A blatant squeak came from the healer as Ichigo grabbed her by the sides, coarse fingers over silky fabric. He soon hoisted her over his form, her small figure balanced on his rough shoulder.

"No time to talk Inoue, we have to go," he told her firmly, smirking smugly to himself. Orihime felt as if her face was on fire as she remembered the last time he hoisted her up like this. Only this time around, her face was flaming because the only thing running through her mind was how close his hand was to somewhere indecent. She was about to utter nonsense about her weight, but she soon felt as if her brain exploded.

"Oww…" Orihime groaned, placing a hand on his strong back for support and the other on her aching head. She took in a shuddering breath, trying to comprehend what had happened and caused her skull to ache immensely.

"Oh shit… You've never experienced shunpo before, have you?" Ichigo swore sharply, his grip on her small waist growing tighter. Opening a single eye slowly, Orihime soon discovered she was no longer in the same place before. No giant, glowing gate, and no legion of headstrong, shinigami captains. Gasping lightly, she felt the pain subdue in her head as she took in the sight of the rolling, grassy plains, and the beautiful full moon high in the sky.

"Is that what that was?" Orihime quietly mumbled, still in awe from the breathtaking landscape in front of her, temporarily forgetting about the throbbing pain in her head.

"Yeah, uh… Did you want me to put you down?" He inquired, the tips of his fingers burning as he could feel her skin under the light fabric. Orihime gasped again and flailed her arms, almost throwing Ichigo off balance.

"O-Oh, I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun, I-it just looked so beautiful! I got caught up in the moment!" The healer swiftly apologized, almost feeling disappointment as he put Zangetsu in the ground in order to put her down with two hands. _'Damn, she's got a tiny waist…'_ Ichigo mentally commented, feeling his face heat up from his crude thought.

"It does look cool, I guess…" He muttered, not looking at the landscape's beauty, but hers. She continued to be in wonder at the scene in front of her, and he couldn't help but crack a tiny smile. Eventually she noticed a very large house behind her (how she missed it in the first place, he didn't know), and her eyes went big in surprise.

"Kukaku-san's house??"

"Yeah, we're going to keep you here until we, uh, figure out what to do…"

Orihime pouted her lips in some understanding, nodding slowly. She took a few steps forward, and reached for the door handle, when Ichigo stopped her by grabbing her by the wrist.

"W-wait, Inoue…"

Turning around in shock, the healer couldn't help but noticing the frightfully familiar emotions he held in his eyes. They reminded her of the ones she saw in the mirror herself, when she was thinking about him.

"Ku-Kurosaki-kun, what-" She started to speak, but finished with a squeak as he forced her against the wall of the house, his hands firmly placed on both sides of her head. Big gray eyes looking into burning amber ones, heated with so many familiar, yet strange emotions.

"Why…" He grunted, never averting his gaze. Ichigo felt power surge through him, as he finally had her so close. She was so close again, and he could feel the pain in his heart subduing. "Why didn't you say goodbye, Inoue?"

Her gray eyes grew wider, if possible, and she shivered lightly as his hot breath tickled her face. _'I-I didn't think he'd be upset about me not saying goodbye to him directly…'_ Orihime's cheeks flushed, and she found it hard to think clearly, with him so close and looking so _good_ with the moon's gentle light reflecting off every inch of his face.

"I-I…" She spoke quietly, taking a heaving breath. "I did… Y-You were just asleep… K-Kurosaki-kun, what's going-"

Ichigo's gaze became heated, and his lifted his right hand to her face, encasing her small, fragile cheek in his callused hand. He lazily ran his thumb over her plump bottom lip, his eyes half-lidded. Orihime forgot what she was saying as soon as he touched her face so gently.

"I was hurt you didn't say goodbye to my _awake_ face, Inoue…" Ichigo half-heartedly complained, before capturing her lips into a haste kiss. Her _first _kiss. Orihime shut her eyes tight, her heart hammering in her ribcage._ 'Ku-Kurosaki-kun's kissing me…'_ was the only thought she could muster, as the rest of her mind was fogged with the thoughts of him.

Ichigo poured his heart into that kiss, before breaking off for a short minute to get a good look at the woman in front of him. Pleased with the reaction he was getting from her, he went back in for another, startling her with his eagerness, his passion, and his ferocity. She panted as she struggled to regain her lost breath, due to his dominating kisses.

His tongue traced the bottom of her lip, demanding entrance. The healer gasped in surprise, giving Ichigo the chance he was looking for, delving into the depths of her mouth, thoroughly taking in her taste. Ironically enough, she reminded him of strawberries.

Orihime shakily brought her trembling hands up to his robes, clutching the fabric almost desperately. Her chest heaved as she frantically tried to remember how to breathe. Ichigo removed his hands from the wall and placed them on her bare neck, thumbs caressing her jawbone. His flesh burned where he touched. _God_, how he loved the feeling of her skin on his…

"K-Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime panted, when she could manage to finally speak, her flesh tingling from his frantic touches to her shoulders and arms. He pulled away for a short moment, giving her a small, satisfied smirk, before placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Quit raping the poor girl, would you? She hasn't even gotten inside yet!" A familiar, harsh voice called out to the two, immediately dousing the fire Ichigo felt coursing through his veins. Orihime turned bright red, before looking shyly up to the boy hunched over her.

"Fucking dammit…" Ichigo swore, taking a regretful step back away from the healer. Within moments, Orihime rushed inside, her face more red than ever, leaving Ichigo very pissed and Kukaku outside.

"I didn't know you had it in you," she mused, folding her arms under her generous chest. Ichigo threw a murderous glance at her, balling up his fists in frustration.

"You… You just shut the hell up right now… You totally ruined it all-"

"Oh, hush, would you? God knows what you were going to do to the poor girl if I hadn't intervened," Kukaku scoffed, giving the boy a menacing scowl. "And you just got her back. Must you ravage her now?"

Growling at the busty woman, Ichigo refused to respond to her. Kukaku kept her hard gaze on the lewd teen, which gave a sharp stare in return.

"And I hear she doesn't even know of your feelings. She's probably confused as hell now, you know."

The substitute froze in his place, his muscles tightening up. Slowly, but surely, his mind became clearer, and it dawned onto him what he had just done.

In his desperate state, he had kissed… No, more like made out, he determined, with the girl he realized he loved just this morning. He so recklessly wanted to be closer to her, to latch onto her so harm would never come to her again, that he was driven to the definite point of no return.

Ichigo slouched against the cool wall, immediately regretting touching her. Well, he didn't regret kissing her himself, but he took advantage of her, and even more so when he didn't know her feelings either.

"I… shit… What the hell have I done…?" Ichigo muttered to himself, now in a shocked state. Kukaku scoffed, understanding that he knew his mistake without saying anything more.

"I suggest you apologize to her. And soon," she suggested before making a hasty retreat back inside. Ichigo let his body slide down the wall, falling onto the ground unceremoniously. He kept a distant gaze on the horizon, replaying memories of the past few days, hoping it'd somehow relieve his guilt and allow him courage to give her the apology she deserved.

---

Orihime tripped and stumbled as she made her way into the house. Eventually giving up on getting up, only to fall moments later, the healer sat on the cold floor, tears stinging at her eyes.

'_K-Kurosaki-kun… H-He kissed me, b-but… I don't know what it means!'_ Orihime mentally wept, her arms trembling from the shock treatment she received just moments before. Lips still tingling, Orihime felt scorching tears roll down her cheeks.

But despite what others may think, she wasn't crying because she was sad. She was actually very happy, but her mind refused to overcome the terrified feeling that burdened her after that whole charade. The most terrifying thing she felt while replaying those hard kisses and frenzied touches, was confusion. Orihime really didn't want to think he meant anything more by those, like he possibly felt the same as her, because she knew her hopes would most definitely be crushed.

Hearing nearing footsteps, Orihime quickly wiped her fallen tears away, inhaling sharply before standing up.

"Inoue, you're okay!" Chirped a familiar voice from behind her. Turning around gradually after wiping away remnants of tears, Orihime found it was Rukia with a tremendously relieved expression on her face. "So Ichigo managed to take you back okay!"

Instantly flushing again at the mention of his name, the healer nodded the best she could without bursting into tears.

"I-I… Thank you, Kuchiki-san, b-but… can I ask a question?" Orihime nervously muttered, squirming in her spot. Raising an eyebrow, Rukia nodded fervently, as if she'd do anything for the girl.

"I'm confused…" She confessed, playing with the fabric of the silk dress again. _'I'm getting a bad habit of this…'_ Orihime mentally commented. "W-Why am I at Kukaku-san's house? Why did… K-Kurosaki-kun rescue me? Who told you about me going to the Royal Realm?"

Soon realizing she was asking the question of what was going on, Rukia let go of a chuckle, amused that she was right, as Inoue _was_ confused about everything. Motioning for her to sit down, the shinigami took a seat in front of her, wearing a smile.

"Calm down, Inoue, everything will be explained. But did you really think we'd let you go without a fight?"

"Eh? But… Kurosaki-kun didn't fight…"

"Er, well, that was part of the plan."

Orihime's eyes grew wide with confusion, inciting another small laugh from Rukia due to her interesting expression.

"We really didn't have any idea what we were going to do, honestly. We got to Soul Society, and I figured we were going to go in and start attacking. Then I saws Shiba-san's house, and I thought of an idea," Rukia explained, drawing small circles in the floor with her finger lazily. Orihime scratched her head, still feeling bewildered about all this.

The shinigami continued to explain what had happened, and their plans to take back the healer. Eventually, Orihime seemed to understand it, and was mostly accepting of it, until Rukia uttered the basis of the plan.

"So to sum it all up, we decided to just take you back, bringing and keeping you here until we can figure a way to remove the Key from you. That way you can go back to Karakura and live the rest of your life peacefully."

The healer gasped, throwing her tiny hands up to her mouth. "B-But, Soul Society will find me eventually, and you'll get in trouble!"

Frowning, Rukia put a gentle hand on Orihime's arm, as a sign of comfort. "We probably will, but I don't want to lose you, Inoue." The tiny girl blushed hard at her bold confession. "You're one of my greatest friends…"

Orihime surprised Rukia by quickly taking her small body into a hug, her shoulders trembling from holding back more tears. Shocked and unfamiliar with hugs, Rukia could only place her hands on her back awkwardly, hoping she was doing it right.

"I really am glad you're okay…" Rukia muttered into Orihime's shoulder, cheeks growing hotter. She was inwardly proud of herself for finally being so open for once, but it was unfamiliar territory she was treading into. Nodding in response, the healer hugged the girl tighter.

"Kuchiki-san…" Orihime mumbled, her tone going from nervously happy, to determined. "I-I'm happy you rescued me, but I'm not worth all this trouble… I'd rather you and Kurosaki-kun stayed home where you wouldn't have put your lives at stake."

Surprising Orihime again, Chad and Renji entered the room, both shocked at the statement just heard.

"Oh… And Sado-kun and Abarai-kun…" She spoke softly, looking to them wearily. "I appreciate it, but you really shouldn't have come either…" Chad only shook his head, silently against her protests. Renji scoffed and went to the two girl's sides.

"We were going to rescue you whether you wanted it or not," he spouted, soon pulling at the healer's cheek, inciting objections of pain. Renji didn't know Inoue all that much, but he knew she meant a lot to Rukia and Ichigo, and doing so, he would automatically help them and her, whenever needed.

"I… But I-" Orihime began to speak in defiance again, but instead warning glares from two of them, and a silent plea from the other. Swallowing hard, she nodded in understanding, although she still didn't completely agree with what they were doing. She didn't want them to risk everything for her.

A shiver was sent down her spine as she heard more footsteps behind her. She kept her gaze on her other friends, not particularly wanting to look at who was behind her. Orihime really, really didn't want it to be Kurosaki-kun. Turning red, she bit her still bruised lips, trying her best to ignore the pleasantly tingling pain as she remembered his kisses.

It wasn't that she didn't want to see him. With his actions from earlier, her heart ached and yelled to tell him the truth. To reveal her love for him, to explain what she was doing in his room the night she left for Hueco Mundo, and so much more. But her fear of rejection got to the better of her.

"Has she been informed?" Kukaku's voice asked the remaining people, giving Orihime relief. _'It's Kukaku-san…'_

"Yes, she has been told of the plan," Rukia replied, giving the healer a small smile. She gave her a shaky grin in return.

"Good. You, come with me," Kukaku spoke harshly to Orihime, pointing a hard finger at her. Cocking her eyebrows, she stood up questioningly.

"Eh? Um, may I ask why?"

"Because you look as cold as hell in that dress, and if Ichigo saw you like that a second time, he'd probably attack you again," she replied, giving her a smug smirk. "I can understand why he would though, that thing's pretty revealing."

Instantly flushing, Orihime felt like her face was going to burst from the heat. Shyly, she tried to tug the dress up higher, knowing very well her efforts would be futile. It was just the way it was designed.

"Wait, Ichigo did _what??"_ Rukia screeched as Orihime began to shuffle her way out of the room the with Shiba clan leader. The female shinigami followed her, demanding to know what it was he did, as Kukaku searched for a covering of some sort.

"U-Um… Ku-Kurosaki-kun was upset, is all…" Orihime muttered, still red as she blindly followed Kukaku around.

"But Shiba-san said he attacked you," Rukia scoffed, immediately stopping in her steps. "Inoue, he didn't hit you or anything, did he??"

"Kuchiki-san, no! H-He'd never do that, it's just…" Orihime stopped, leaving Kukaku's side to hush the female shinigami. "I, um… didn't exactly say goodbye to him while he was awake, and he was upset…"

"So… What did he do?"

Turning redder, if possible, Orihime leaned in and whispered of his actions to Rukia, who soon had an expression mixed between anger and relief.

"He invaded your personal space!! That asshole, I'm going to beat him up! But… You like him though, don't you? Isn't that a good thing?"

Immediately, Orihime placed her hands on her friend's lips, hoping she wouldn't say anymore. She didn't know where he was at the moment, and if he overheard, things could turn ugly for her. He could be just around the corner for all she knew!

"Kuchiki-san, it was… Interesting, to say the least…" Orihime replied, her voice lowering. "But I'm so confused… I don't know why he did what he did, and my heart can't stand not knowing his motives. I-I know it should be a good thing, but… I can't help but feel torn up inside, for absolutely no reason at all!"

"… Don't you think you should talk to him?"

Shaking her head, Orihime replied with a silent 'no'. Kukaku soon returned with a large blanket, explaining it was the only thing her stupid brother could find offhand.

Rukia understood her point of view, but she felt she couldn't understand the healer's motives for not saying anything. Though she assumed that it was because she didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Okay, Inoue… I understand," Rukia replied, giving her a smile. Orihime's big gray eyes spoke of thanks, as the three women began making their way to their original location, the room with Chad and Renji.

Only there had been another body Orihime wasn't expecting, and her body grew hot at the sight of him. Oh, how the sight of him made her body go haywire, she unfortunately mused. Must he be so good looking?

Taking in a sharp breath, she took confident strides towards the three boys, a wide smile on her face. Though her body was a mess inside, she figured she could put on a façade that nothing was wrong, just for a little while.

Ichigo didn't know if he should feel relieved or feel worse, upon seeing her smile. Clenching his fists tightly, he vowed he'd get her alone soon, and apologize to her.

---

He wasn't surprised that she hadn't been able to stay up for very long after she returned. Ichigo knew she was up late the night before, with her leaving, and he wasn't sure how much rest she got during the day, as she waited for her fate. Giving her a soft look, the rest of the friends noticed she was sleeping soundly as well, her small form leaning against the chilled wall.

"I hope she'll sleep good tonight," Rukia commented, chuckling lightly at the sight of her slumbering form. Chad nodded and watched Renji stretch himself.

"I think it's time we all go get some shuteye. We'll need all the energy we can get for when Soul Society finds her and takes her back," he commented, eyelids drooping from fatigue. "Ichigo, you going to get some sleep too?"

Ichigo changed his gaze from the dreaming state of Inoue, to Renji for a quick moment.

"No… I'm going to stay up for a bit longer…" He replied, soon bringing his stare back at the shifting healer. They nodded and few chuckled at his lovesick puppy state, before leaving him and the healer alone, only few candles burning to illuminate the dark room.

Leaning his head in his palm, he continued to watch her for what seemed like forever. The blanket she attempted to keep on previously was falling down, exposing her soft skin once more. Her form shook lightly as she took in a shuddering breath, before soon calming down, her chest rising and falling to show her careful breathing. Her lips were puckered into a faint pout, reminding Ichigo of how he found that they really were as soft as they looked.

Feeling his cheeks grow hotter, he boldly moved towards her small form, eventually leaning against the wall himself, just as she was. His head was turned to the side, and he stared at her angelic face, an apologetic expression written all over his face.

"Sorry for being stupid earlier, Inoue…" Ichigo quietly mumbled, brushing a few strands of hair from her face. _'I'll give her a better apology when she's awake…'_ He vowed. She shuddered at the touch, her eyebrows furrowing. He stopped, wondering if he was waking her up, as her movements became more defined, and she began sliding sideways along the wall. She would've landed face first into the floor, if he hadn't caught her by the shoulders.

His face boiled, his hands able to touch her exposed skin again. Licking at his suddenly dry lips, he mentally forced himself to hold back, to stop before he could do more damage.

Sliding her form back up, she stayed still for a few minutes before falling back down again. Holding back a groan, Ichigo did what he very much considered dangerous, but probably not as dangerous as her smashing her face in from falling onto the floor.

Scooting slowly closer to her form, he wrapped a shaking arm around her shoulders, her head resting on his chest. Sighing in content, she unknowingly snuggled closer and gripped the fabric of his shihakusho subconsciously. Ichigo red-hot face only grew warmer as he lightly placed a hand on her waist, but he couldn't help but smile at her adorable endeavors. Taking in a deep breath himself, he leaned his head against the wall, waiting for sleep to take him over.

'_Finally…'_ Was his last thought. _'The pain is finally gone away…'_

---

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_R & R please! 8D kthxbai!_


	9. dV Anata wa Kawaii

_-_- Fail chapter is fail. Also, short chapter is short. *cookie* Sorry this sucks so much. I was incredibly stuck with this... So this was both extremely fast and extremely filler. XD But it's one step till I get this fail out my hair, lol. Try to enjoy it if you can. (Also, the chapters won't be 7k anymore. It just takes too much time and I don't have patience to write that much in one go.)_

_**.disclaimer. I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.**_

_**.chapter title. **You are cute  
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'_Wah… It's so warm…'_

She didn't know what it was that was so warm, but she liked it. Cuddling in closer, she vaguely wondered what _it_ was. It definitely didn't feel like a mattress, but it didn't feel like a blanket or the floor either. Her right hand tightened its grip, feeling fabric bunching up in her hand.

'_What is it…? I can't figure out what it is…'_ Orihime refused to open her eyes, as she still felt tired. _'Maybe just a few more hours…'_ She thought, letting go of the warm fabric and lazily tossing her arm over the rest of the heated form, her cheek growing hotter along with the… well, whatever it is, getting warmer as well.

But then she felt something on her waist. Still, she refused to open her eyes, so she regretfully lifted the newly placed arm on her own waist, searching for what exactly it was gripping her so tightly.

Poking and prodding she felt… Skin? Upon further inspection, it appeared to be a hand!

She cracked open a nervous eye to see just who it was that was currently holding onto her side, almost desperately.

Long tan fingers… And she also noticed a lot of black that she was lying on. The thing under her stirred and she froze, instantly opening up both eyes.

Familiar hand, black shihakusho… A dark blush rose to her cheeks. _'Oh please, don't let it be…' _Gray eyes traveled up the form to reveal it _was_ the boy she was both hoping it would and wouldn't be. "K-Kurosaki-kun…"

'_B-But when did this happen?' _she wondered, her big eyes roving over his sleeping face and bright orange hair. Biting down on her lip, she contemplated getting up or not. If she rose from the position, the possibility of him waking up was greater, and embarrassment would ensue for both. However, if she wanted to be selfish and stay with him just a few moments longer, the embarrassment would be put off temporarily.

Her cheeks grew hotter as she seriously wanted to choose the second option. She still loved Kurosaki-kun, and to be in his arms like this was like a wonderful dream. But if he woke up and, hey! Turns out he accidentally did this in his sleep, and found it utterly disgusting to have her in his arms. Boy… Orihime wondered how long it would take for her to recover from that.

She gripped his shihakusho again, face on fire. _'I… I'm going to be selfish…'_ She ultimately decided, choosing to stay in his arms. Although completely embarrassed, she felt more determined from this. How that worked out, she had no clue, but she felt more empowered. Maybe because she was by his side, she felt like she could do anything.

Ichigo started to shift a bit and mumbled a few incoherent words, causing Orihime to raise her eyebrows. _'Ah… H-he's waking up… Whoops.' _

"G-Good morning, Kurosaki-kun…" The healer mumbled, stumbling on her words and avoiding making direct eye contact with the boy. Her side starting to tingle as his fingers twitched against her dress.

"Uh… morning…" Ichigo hesitantly and tiredly responded. _'… Crap… She woke up before I did…'_ His face turned red as he cracked open his eyes, scanning the room to make sure none of their friends was around. If they saw him like this, they'd never let him live it down.

"So, I… guess we both fell asleep in the same spot? And maybe ended up like this… S-sorry…" Orihime quietly apologized, voicing her guess on what had happened. _'Now would be a good time to move, but… He doesn't seem to be letting go of my side!' _The healer squirmed a bit, trying to get herself into a more comfortable spot. "A-ano, c-can you let go of me, Kurosaki-kun?"

'_Now seems like the right time…'_ He mentally concluded. Taking a deep breath, he put on a straight face and looked at her with stern, amber eyes.

"No."

Orihime felt a shock go down her spine at his bold response. _'N-No??'_ He saw her almost horrified expression, and felt immediately guilty, along with a lot of embarrassment. How did 'no' slip out of his mouth??

"I-I mean, yes! Of course…" He replied quickly, regrettably letting go of her slender waist. "I, uh, wanted to talk to you though…" She sat up soon, her side becoming cold.

Orihime gathered enough courage to look at him directly, her cheeks burning. _'Why does it feel so warm all of a sudden?'_ She questioned, letting her blanket fall down her shoulders more, so she could 'cool down'. She nodded shyly as she looked at the orange-haired boy. "W-What is it, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo soon forgot what he was going to say when she removed her blanket. Letting go of a groan, he brought his hand up to his eyes, internally yelling at himself _not_ to look at anything indecent. He respected her, dammit, and what he had to say was important.

"Inoue, I…" he started shakily, eventually forcing his eyes to look into her deep, gray ones. "I'm… really sorry about yesterday… I shouldn't have, erm… kissed you like that."

It was true Orihime was confused as to why he kissed her, but now her heart ached as she watched him apologize for kissing her. How in the world did that little thing called hope manage to bubble back up again? She thought she had managed to suppress that, but the pain in her chest told her that it apparently wasn't so.

"Ah… W-Well, that's okay Kurosaki-kun. I know you were just confusing me with-" Orihime tried to respond, and was going to finish with, _'Kuchiki-san',_ but the shinigami placed a light finger to her lips, causing her face to burn hotter.

"No, it's not okay… I really shouldn't have done that. Especially if I… I don't know your feelings, I mean," Ichigo struggled to speak, finding it hard to get the words out. The healer's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Eh?" She squeaked as soon as he removed his finger. Titling her head to the side in confusion, she lightly pouted her lips. "Feelings about what?"

Apparently she struck a nerve or something as his face immediately grew bright red. Now Orihime was definitely curious, as she normally doesn't see him this open and embarrassed. Cracking a small smile, she inwardly giggled to herself. _'He's so cute like this…'_

"Never mind, Kurosaki-kun. You seem pretty uncomfortable about it, so it's fine," Orihime replied somewhat amused, waving her hands fervently in front of her face. Ichigo caught her off guard by taking one of those waving hands and holding it tightly in his own, large, callused ones. "E-Eh?"

"N-No… I need to say this, dammit… I just don't know _how_ to say it…" Ichigo swore, his face appearing to grow brighter by the second. The healer wondered if he was getting sick, as his hand felt awfully hot.

"Kurosaki-kun, are you feeling oka-"

"I think I l-love you, Inoue."

Gray eyes grew wide.

'_W-What?' _

Inside, her heart both soared and stopped. _'It's definitely a dream…'_ She concluded, but she still forced herself to look into his burning, amber orbs. His hand held hers tightly, and the intense, yet still awkward gaze she got from him only reassured herself further that he was telling the truth.

"I…" Ichigo swallowed thickly, taking her silence and disbelieving stare as a bad thing. "I don't expect you to say anything back, but I wanted to both apologize and justify my actions yesterday… So, yeah… sorry."

Orihime, still blown away by his sudden confession, tried desperately to get her brain to work again. _'Just confess back to him! What are you waiting for!' _ Her stomach flipped in anticipation. _'But what to say?'_

Ichigo, on the other hand, was taking this silence very badly. This was the first time he'd ever dealt with such feelings. He didn't know if he was doing it right, but he decided that suddenly blurting them out was a bad move on his part. _'And here I'd thought I'd feel better after saying something…'_

"Well…" Ichigo broke the silence, clearing his throat and releasing her hand. If there was nothing left to add to the conversation, he'd leave her be. That and he didn't know how much longer his pride would hold out. "I'll let you be alone…" He ran a hand through his bright orange hair and gave her a weak smirk before standing up.

"W-Wait!" Orihime finally managed to choke out, grabbing at the pant leg of his shihakusho. He looked down to her in confusion, doing his best to keep his face from growing too hot. _'… She looks cute from this angle…' _Ichigo looked to her with confused eyes, and tried his best to hold back that hope again. You know, just in case.

"What is it, Inoue?" The shinigami inquired, forcing a straight voice. He watched her stand up, noticing a slight shake in her step.

"I… K-Kurosaki-kun, remember when you said you thought that five lifetimes thing sounded familiar?" Orihime muttered, suddenly looking at the floor in hesitation, gripping the fabric of her dress tightly. She was still having a hard time believing his words, but it was even harder for her collect her thoughts on how to reply.

"Yeah?" The healer shuddered at the sound of his deep, low voice. _'Wah, h-he sounds so… wonderful… No! Focus on the matter at hand!'_

"It wasn't just familiar…" Orihime finally confessed, bringing herself to look at his intense, amber eyes. She shivered upon seeing his gaze, straight and focused, only on her. "I, um… said that same thing the night before I left for Hueco Mundo."

"Wait, the night you healed my hand?"

"Ah… I healed your hand?" Orihime's brows furrowed together, questioning what had truly happened. "I didn't call them out though, I only held it- Eep!" She squeaked as she threw her hands to her mouth. Now she had said too much.

"You… _held_ my hand?" He blanched, eyes growing wider. Orihime merely nodded, face growing ever hotter.

"A-ah, yes… B-But what I really wanted to say was…" The healer cleared her own throat and taking in a deep breath to calm her rattled nerves. _'Just say it… Say it Orihime.' _Ichigo looked at her with both confused, but curious eyes. What was it she wanted to tell him?

"K-Kurosaki-kun, I… I also…" She hesitated, starting to tremble immensely. Why was it so hard for her to tell him? It was clear he shared the same feelings, but yet she was afraid.

Then she realized telling him would still cause him pain. Soul Society would eventually find her, and they'd be ripped apart, never to see each other again. She could imagine his hurt face now, as she had to turn around and leave to go to the Royal Realm. Or when she saw him walk off with the captains, being arrested because of treason.

Blinking, she found tears clinging to her lashes, a few now making their way down her cheeks. "Ah… I-I'm sorry…" She quietly apologized, bringing her small hands up to her face, wiping away the fallen, salty drops. He soon frowned at her sobbing sight, clenching his fists in hope to hold back the urge to hug her. "I-I can't…"

His downward scowl grew deeper, and he forced himself to let go of a light laugh. "You wanted to tell me you don't think the same… It's fine, Inoue, I understand." Orihime pulled her hands away momentarily to get a good look at the boy she loved. She very much wanted to tell him he was wrong, but the words got caught in her throat.

"N-No, t-that's not it…" she sobbed upon seeing his heartbroken face. _'This… this is the expression I didn't want him to have…'_ "Kurosaki-kun, I-I want to tell you how I feel, but… Soul Society! They'll find me again, and… I-I don't want to see you hurt…"

She continued to cry as he took in her words. _'She's… afraid of being separated?'_

"… That's all?"

Gray eyes snapped open and flashed toward sincere amber ones. _'T-That's what he has to say? But this is important!'_

"Inoue…" He spoke quietly, folding his arms together. "You know why we came to rescue you, right?" Nodding slowly, she understood what he was saying, but didn't truly _get_ his meaning. "We're going to find a way to remove the key. That way you can come back to Karakura with us… With… me."

Only more tears found their way down her face, and the shinigami soon scowled. He always seemed to hurt upon seeing her crying face. Muttering a small, "Dammit, come here…" he pulled the healer into a hug, and she continued to sob into his chest. _'At least this hug is better than the last…'_ He inwardly commented.

"It'll be okay, Inoue," Ichigo murmured to her, running a hand lightly through her auburn hair, his breath fanning over her head. "I'll protect you."

Taking a deep, shuttering breath, Orihime also took in his spicy scent, thinking, _'Now's the time…'_

"Ku-Kurosaki-kun, I l-lov-"

"Boy, going at it this early in the morning?" A familiar, deep voice interrupted her and caused the two to look towards the door. Renji stood in the archway with a casual smirk on, and Rukia was next to him with a similar expression.

"Don't say that, Renji. They're cute," she replied to the redheaded shinigami, playfully nudging him in the side. Orihime's face grew extremely red and she bit her bottom hard. _'T-they saw us! A-and we're still hugging!'_

"Damn you…" Ichigo scowled and his grip on the healer growing tighter. "Just how long have you two been there??"

Smirking, Rukia folded her arms smugly. "Long enough. But finally… It's about time you two got together." Ichigo scowled and sent the small shinigami a death glare, before looking down to the small, flustered healer in his arms, soon softening his expression.

"You guys are embarrassing Inoue, so shut up!"

"I think she's embarrassed because you've been caught hugging her."

Then, almost immediately, Ichigo let go of Orihime, feeling a bit of regret. "Sorry…" He muttered, kneading the back of his neck as he gazed at the floor in remorse. Orihime merely shook her head and bent back over to pick up her fallen blanket. Now that Ichigo had let go of her, she felt surprisingly cold. Upon wrapping the fabric around her shoulders, she sent a humiliated smile to the two shinigami in the doorway.

"So what do we have planned today?" Orihime inquired, her voice squeaking a bit with embarrassment. Rukia and Renji made their way toward the girl, and within minutes, Chad had entered as well, quiet as ever.

"Resting and deciding how to remove the Key," Rukia spoke matter-of-factly, keeping an eye on the healer for her reaction. Orihime's lips pouted into an 'O' shape, and she gripped the covering tighter.

"O-Of course… Sorry I asked… It was a stupid question."

"It wasn't a stupid question, Inoue," Ichigo responded kindly, causing her face to flame up further. _'H-How embarrassing… He's acting like this in front of our friends!'_ Soon, although very unintentionally, Orihime felt very dizzy and her eyes rolled to the back of her head, causing her to fall to the floor ungracefully.

Inwardly scolding herself for doing something so stupid, she had no energy to get up. She felt her fatigue slipping in and she couldn't open her eyes. However, she still vaguely heard voices before she slipped into slumber again.

"_I-Inoue!"_

"_Calm down, idiot. She's probably still tired."_

"_Renji's right, Ichigo. Just think of how much she's gone through so far. She needs more rest. And while she does that, we can discuss how to remove the key."_

Feeling something large and warm on her head, the healer determined it could've been a hand or something. Maybe a foot… But who would want to put their feet on her head? Anyway, the thing patted the top of her head a bit, appearing only with good thoughts.

"_It's okay Inoue… I'll fix all this for you, I promise."_

_---

* * *

R & R~  
_


	10. dVI Shukumei

_Yay, second to last chapter!! *cheers* Yes folks, at the moment, I have no other plans to extend this further than what I already have in mind, so the end is near! Please review and maybe I can get the next and final chapter up quicker. XD_

_**.chapter title.** Fate_

_**.disclaimer. I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.**  
_

* * *

---

It was yelling and shouting that arose her curiosity as she sat against the wall. It sounded sort of distant though, so she only kept her brows scrunched together and eyes remained closed.

"Inoue's not going with you!" A low voice yelled out. Orihime's stomach clenched in anticipation the more she listened to the yelling and sounds of clashing swords.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you will be arrested for treason in your attempt to keep Inoue Orihime away from the Royal Realm!" Another loud voice bellowed out, invoking a shudder down her spine. She definitely remembered that voice and his commands. The head captain, Yamamoto. She wanted to open her eyes to see him and the scene in front of her, but they remained suspiciously heavy and refused to budge.

"Inoue! Run! You need to get out of here!" _His_ voice called out to her. The pain laced in his voice made her want to cry. _'He's hurting so much…'_

Orihime only shook her head and pulled her knees closer to her body. Everything was so heavy, it was difficult to move.

"_Inoue, go now!!"_

And just then, her eyes snapped open.

Everything was silent; eerily silent. She didn't see anything or anyone around. Such a lonely feeling gave her the shivers and she'd apparently broken out in a cold sweat.

'_A… dream?'_

She let her body slack back against the chilled wall, taking in a deep breath. If Soul Society wasn't here yet, everything would be fine. Picking up the blanket and huddling back into it, she let her mind wander.

If only all this wouldn't have happened, she mused, Ichigo would be fine. He wouldn't be hurting so much, and neither would she, although she worried more about him.

'_Kurosaki-kun…'_

Orihime desperately wanted to keep her heart from soaring as she remembered his kisses and lingering touches. He had loved her in return, but she wasn't able to say the same to him. She did truly love him as well, but fear of being torn apart kept her heart and emotions in chains.

Her mind began playing tricks on her when she could almost feel his hand on her cheek. Leaning towards his warmth, she could see him with a gentle smile forming on his face. Her cheeks burned further as she imagined him say her name. But not her last name; she meant her first one. Orihime.

Her eyes fluttered open, stopping her daydream and she thought, _'… Maybe one day.'_

Light footsteps caused her to turn her head and she looked towards the source of the sound. She had sort of expected it to be Rukia again, but she wasn't completely surprised when discovered it was Ichigo.

"You're awake?" He asked calmly, a grim look on his face. She nodded and pulled her blanket closer. Purposely, Orihime gave him a smile. She didn't know what went through her, but she felt like a smile would reassure both of them. It would be alright, her grin read.

"Yes, Kurosaki-kun. I'm sorry for falling asleep though," she blushed, remembering her sudden fatigue from earlier and how she practically passed out. Ichigo shook his head and took a spot across from her. "Ano… What time is it?" the healer asked innocently.

"Not entirely sure," Ichigo kept his sentences short. "The sun's set already though, so you slept for most of the day." Her gray eyes grew wide at this new fact. _'A-All day??'_

"Oh, I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"Inoue," he cut her off.

"Oh, sorry, I was rambling again and I-"

"Soul Society's going to be here soon."

He still looked grim as his eyes were locked with the floorboards. How could he look at her? He'd promised to protect her and they hadn't managed to think of anything while she was asleep.

Orihime looked surprised. "Oh…" Was all she could muster to say. She closed her eyes for a quick second and could definitely feel the enormous reiatsu that was the entire Gotei 13. A shudder went through her body, but she brought her thoughts back to the boy in front of her. She could honestly care less about her own impending doom. What she cared about what Ichigo.

"It'll be okay, Kurosaki-kun," she told him quietly, wanting to reach out and comfort him. But she kept herself held back for some unknown reason. "We'll figure this out."

"That's just it, Inoue!" He yelled, startling her a bit by his new volume. "We thought about it and thought about it, but we couldn't think of a damn way to get the key out of you without killing you!" His stomach lurched at his bitter words. They were like a knife to his heart. "Dammit…" He brought his voice down, his swear quiet.

"Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime called his name, somewhere inside her hoping he'd look up to her. "It's okay… Really, I can go to the Royal Realm. Once the captains gets here, just give me back and leave quietly. That way you won't get in trouble," she told him, keeping her bad dream from earlier in the back of her mind. Somehow, now that she knew about his feelings, she didn't think it would be so bad to go. And who knows? Perhaps there would be some way where she could visit her friends and him after she'd learned to control the key. They said she wouldn't be able to see anyone anymore, but there _had_ to be a way.

After all, this girl believed in twisting fate. She was a goddess who could reject anything.

"I'm not…" He started, his hands curling into tight fists. "I can't do that Inoue," he choked out, now looking up at her.

And then she could see it. She saw the pain, guilt, worry and fear in his eyes. One look at his eyes alone and she could understand him completely.

"You're strong, Kurosaki-kun. I'm sure you could," Orihime replied quietly. "You'd get over this eventually." _'… Over me…' _He just shook his head and brought his gaze back to the floor.

"I don't want to."

His stubbornness began to frazzle her. She didn't know how to calm the poor boy down! She knew the situation they were in and it was indeed hard to see the best in it, but he shouldn't be so distraught. If only there was some way to calm him down…

Her cheeks grew hot and Orihime pulled the blanket even closer and took in a deep breath. _'It's now or never, Orihime…'_

"You know, Kurosaki-kun, there were so many things I've wanted to do," she started, doing her best not to break her gaze. She couldn't look away… She wouldn't waver. "I wanted to be an astronaut, a teacher, and make my own bakery!" Ichigo glanced up at her, his eyes still burning with painful emotions.

"Then you'd go to the ice cream man and Mr. Donut and order one of everything, but you'd need five lifetimes to do it," he finished for her, the tone in his voice clearly not amused. "But you could have different jobs, different towns, and different foods." He counted off the things on his fingers, his eyebrows knit tightly together. "You've already told me this, Inoue…" But she shook her head and let her smile melt a bit.

"Not the ending though," she kept her voice low, cheeks very warm. He seemed a little curious now, but his downcast expression still remained frozen on his face.

"What's the ending?" He inquired, his voice just as quiet as hers. Orihime sat up from her spot, letting the blanket fall, and slowly moved towards him on her knees. Once she was right in front of him, she put her small hands on top of his. She smiled at his pink cheeks.

"For those five lifetimes… I-I'd fall in love with the same person," she finished, her stare unyielding. _'Finally…'_ She thought, her heart still hammering in her ribcage. _'I finally told him…'_

Her closeness slightly startled him, but he couldn't help but bask in her warm reiatsu. He didn't say anything in return. Orihime began to back off a bit, starting to get flustered over just how close she was. Surely he wouldn't want her so nearby, she thought.

But he took a hold of her wrist, keeping her in the same place. Her eyes sparked with curiosity and embarrassment, but he saw nothing but love. Ichigo let a small smile grace his face as he close the gap between the two, their lips meeting in a sweet kiss. Orihime was startled at first, but softened into his grasp and moved her hands to the back of his head, her fingers toying with his hair. Ichigo kept his hands on her waist and continued to meet her with a few more kisses. He could feel the emotions pouring out from each individual one.

Ichigo pulled her closer, whispering her name after a while. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked to him with a heated and confused look. "I'm sorry…" He quietly apologized, keeping her in his lap as means to hold her close.

"For what?" She asked, boldly leaning her head against his shoulder. "You haven't done anything wrong, so please don't apologize." The healer lightly scolded him, causing the shinigami to hold onto her tighter.

"I… love you…" he quietly and clumsily told her in a low voice. She smiled lightly and looked at him.

"I love you too, Kurosaki-kun…" She whispered, inciting a smile of his own on his face. He brought his lips down to hers again and she was just about to meet his with her own as well when they both felt a heavy, suffocating feeling all around them. They only looked at each other in worry.

"They're here."

---

"Ukitake-taichou, please tell me there's something you can do!!"

"I'm sorry Kuchiki; there isn't anything we can do…" The captain's voice was gentle as he spoke. He was one of the few captains that really had wished he could do something. He knew and understood of the troubles Orihime went, along with Ichigo, and taking her away would only result in more pain.

But no one went against the head captain. One would be arrested for treason if they did.

Rukia turned around and faced the redhead standing behind her, her head hung low and eyes shut tight. She had truly wanted to help her friend, but she couldn't do a thing! Time had run out…

"Rukia…" Renji mumbled, placing a hand on her tiny shoulder. He could feel her small body shaking, holding back sobs. He couldn't help the person he held most dear to him either, and he could only idly watch her cry over her friend.

'_I'm sorry I failed you Inoue…' _She thought numbly before letting her weight fall onto the support in front of her.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, we know you are inside! Bring Inoue Orihime out this instant!" Yamamoto bellowed, his fingers tight on his cane. There was silence and no motion, making it appear that they would refuse to come out.

"You'll be killed if you don't come out soon, Ichigo!" Kenpachi yelled out casually. He inwardly hoped he'd be the one doing the slaughtering. But still, there was no movement and no sounds. Rukia and Renji looked at the door of the Shiba's house, both confused as to why they hadn't come out yet.

"Inoue… Ichigo…" Rukia whispered to herself, not wanting her friends to be killed. Why weren't the coming out??

Soon the door began to open slightly and two familiar redheads appeared, Orihime in front with Ichigo behind her. All could see their connected hands and the pained look on the boy's face. Orihime kept her head high, an emotionless expression on her face.

The two walked towards the captains until they were right in front of Yamamoto. The old man cracked open an eye and peered at them through his bushy eyebrow.

"You understand you'll be arrested for stealing Inoue Orihime away, correct?" He asked nonchalantly. The grip on each other's hands grew tighter and Ichigo nodded albeit hesitantly and forced. The head captain struck his cane down on the soft soil and kept his head high. "Inoue Orihime will leave at midnight! Prepare the Golden Gate!"

Orihime turned around and faced the boy she loved with a heavy heart. "I'm sorry…" She whispered to him. Ichigo kept his gaze off to the side, still feeling horrible about all this.

"You haven't done anything wrong so don't apologize…" He told her in the same tone, his amber eyes looking off into the distance. A small, painful smile crept up her lips as she noted how he mimicked the same words from her earlier.

"Someday, Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime told him, placing a light hand on his upper arm. "We'll see each other again."

"Ichigo." He cut her off softly, now bringing his eyes back to her. "It's Ichigo…" The smile on her face threatened to grow wider, but she feared any bigger grin would cause those stinging tears to fall.

"Ichigo-kun," she replied, quickly giving him a hug before her departure. He was stiff at first; surprised she would incite something like this. "I would like it if you called me Orihime." He nodded and his face met her long auburn locks. Ichigo took in her scent thoroughly, considering it would be the last time.

"Orihime…" He mumbled, hugging her tighter. A quick tear escaped her, but she placed her lips to his cheeks before pulling away.

"Ja ne, Ichigo-kun…" She told him, letting go. It was finally time to let go… Orihime took a step back, her stare never breaking his. His stormy amber eyes burned with painful emotions and he mouthed her name again.

Orihime turned her back to the boy and began walking towards the captains. More tears fell the further she got away. Never in her life had she thought it would be so hard to walk away from something you love… It wasn't even the same as when she left for Hueco Mundo.

"Are you ready for your fate, Inoue Orihime?" Yamamoto questioned. Orihime nodded shakily and took another step towards them. She'll leave and he'll be safe. Orihime gave a watery smile to no one as she thought about how she finally, _finally_ helped him.

'_And if it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart, the only dream that mattered had come true. In this life, I was loved by you.'_

_Goodbye…._

_._

_._

_._

_._

Orihime was next to Unohana when the ground started to shake terribly. _'An earthquake?'_ The healer questioned, noticing the fall of everyone around her. She was the only one standing up. Orihime whipped her head back to Ichigo, eyes wide in confusion. He was on the ground too, but he always kept his eyes on her. She reached her hand towards him, wanting to be by his side to help him up.

Only, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she felt her body losing balance.

"Orihime!" Ichigo called out, somehow managing to be by her side instantaneously, despite his previous falling. He managed to catch her time and held her close in frantic worry. "Orihime!!"

"Yamamoto-sotaichou! It's an imbalance!" Hitsugaya yelled over from his spot on the ground. _'Imbalance?' _ Orihime questioned mentally while her eyes were closed. Her head hurt too much to open her eyes.

"… Just our luck…" Yamamoto swore, regaining his erect posture. "Kurosaki Ichigo, take Inoue Orihime back to the real world!" He commanded the shinigami boy. Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows together and scowled deeply.

"What's your angle, old man??" Ichigo yelled back to him, grinding his teeth. Hitsugaya looked over to him and the healer in his arms and began to get up to his former standing position.

"Kurosaki, there's too many spiritual particles with the key on this side and it's creating an imbalance. Her body's taking a toll on all the pressure and the particles are slowly overtaking her soul," the young captain explained quickly to Ichigo. In a flash, he remembered just how much she had been sleeping the past few days. Frantically, he looked back down at her weak form and her facial expression was clearly one of distress. "You need to take her back to the real world until she stabilizes and we figure out what to do!"

Ichigo held her even closer and nodded grimly. "R-Right, of course…" He replied, stuttering and shaken up. A vice captain opened a senkaimon for the two and Chad to return back to the real world.

"You must be quick, Kurosaki Ichigo! The fate of the Key rests in your hands!" Yamamoto repeated, glaring at the ryoka boy. Ichigo merely bit his lip and held back the urge to sucker punch the head captain.

'_Fate… How I hate you.'_

-

They all managed to get back okay. Ichigo was expecting Chad to tag along to Orihime's flat to keep watch over her, but the Mexican understood the need for them to be alone. He didn't think he'd be much help anyways. So they went their separate ways for the time being, and Ichigo was currently watching over the frail girl in front of him. She had remained quiet for the remainder of their journey back, making Ichigo think she had "fallen asleep" again.

She lay on her bed, chest lightly rising and falling according to her breathing. Ichigo kept his chin on his crossed arms, his amber eyes never leaving her face. A sigh escaped her, startling him. He raised his head to see if she had awoken but she was still in deep slumber.

'_This is such a mess…'_ He mentally commented, also noticing his thought was a huge understatement. But he couldn't help but feel a bit glad about how this was turning out. She hadn't left and now they were back on Earth. _'…So far, so good…'_

Ichigo let his eyes flutter closed for a moment, telling himself he'd just rest his eyes. Only, he fell into the same dark abyss his love was in, holding her hand the entire time.

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	11. dVII Jiyuu

_Yay, last chapter. *hearts* I'd like to thank all of you who've stuck with me and read this all the way through. :D And kudos to those who managed to keep their brains intact after reading my my utter fail. (I seriously need a major overhaul on my writiing. T_T It sucks!) Bwah, anywho... THANKS AGAIN! I luff you all~_

_**.chapter title. **free/freedom  
_

_**.I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

* * *

**_

_I believe in twisting fate._

---

"_No… No, I understand, but what do you want me to do? … Yes, of course, as long as she needs me… Okay, thanks."_

Her body yet again felt heavy. Somehow managing the energy, she tossed her body carelessly on its side, heavy eyelids keeping her eyes closed. _'So tired…' _She thought lifelessly. A warm hand was placed on the top of her head and her breath hitched at the sudden contact.

"It's okay Orihime… Just sleep," the voice spoke, stroking her hair like she was a child. Orihime scrunched her eyes further and puckered her lips out a bit. _'The Royal Realm is… nice…'_ She thought before letting herself drift back into the familiar sleep.

---

Ichigo watched her sigh and fall back into slumber. His heart was beating erratically at the thought of her waking up, but she still seemed to be very fatigued. He was even surprised at how she still slept even after he woke up, which was almost the next day.

"_And for those five lifetimes, I'd fall in love with the same person…"_

A small smile crept up his face once he remembered her gentle words. He could recall the feeling of weightlessness and happiness when he found out about her returning love, only to have the guilt and ache return after discussion her departure.

"I'm so glad I went after you…" Ichigo mumbled to himself, tucking stray hairs behind her ear. He hoped that, for once, he could live a normal life after all this crap. He hoped he could live it with her.

A loud knock startled the shinigami out of his admiring, inciting a quick swear from his mouth. Ichigo reluctantly got up from his spot by Orihime and went to the door, a scowl etched into his features. Turning the doorknob, he was ready to chew off the person who could've woken Orihime up.

"What the hell do you want?" The boy swore, flinging open the door. His jaw dropped as he could put a name with the disturbance.

Rukia.

His features suddenly softened and he pursed his lips together. "What's wrong, Rukia?" He asked hesitantly. The look on her face had him a bit worried. The smaller shinigami merely shook her head and invited herself into the flat.

"Is she still sleeping?" Rukia asked, folding her arms together. Ichigo nodded and looked back to the room where the healer was contained. A weak smile graced her face as she looked to the door herself.

"Quite a scare, huh?" She asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ichigo inquired, raising an eyebrow. Rukia looked back to him, a calmer expression suddenly appearing on her face. The look alone abruptly gave the boy a flood of relief.

"The imbalance… I'm surprised the captains didn't think about that possibility before. I mean, not like I would've thought about it either… But it's just so simple," Rukia spoke quietly, inwardly hoping she wouldn't wake the girl in the other room.

"Care to explain more about this imbalance thing? It's confusing, quite honestly.

"Oh, well… Basically you can't stand to have a certain number of spirit particles on one side of anything. Soul Society, Earth, the Royal Realm… Even Hueco Mundo. Too many particles and everything gets thrown off balance," she explained, further inviting herself into the apartment. Rukia walked to the couch with a light bounce in her step.

"And there was an imbalance in Soul Society because…?" He asked, still confused to all the new information.

"Boy, you really do suck at sensing reiatsu-"

"Shut up!"

"-but if you _had_ noticed, Inoue's reiatsu was immense. Sometimes even greater than yours. With her being the Key, and the Key being made up of spirit particles, the particles in Soul Society started to "bond" with her soul, causing it to be too much for her," Rukia finished explaining. She looked around the apartment with gentle eyes, letting herself as well bask in the healer's reiatsu.

"So that's why she's sleeping so much," Ichigo concluded, scratching his head. "Her soul couldn't handle so much at one time?"

"Exactly."

Ichigo nodded and took a seat next to the smaller shinigami. The two remained in silence for a while, unsure of what to say. After a while, Ichigo leapt out of his seat and looked at his friend worriedly.

"What's going to happen now??" He questioned her quickly, eyes showing blatant worry. Rukia smiled, one Ichigo had never seen before, and her eyes twinkled with happiness.

"She can stay in the real world."

Ichigo mouthed the same words at her and she continued nodding, still excited herself. "B-But how? Why??" He inquired further, still taking in the fact she could stay on Earth.

"After a discussion with the Soul King and Soul Society, there'd be a particle imbalance no matter where she went. The only place she'd be okay to stay at is here," Rukia clapped her hands together as she spoke. "They want you to do something in return though."

Ichigo nodded fiercely and awkwardly. "Anything!" He quickly spouted. He would do anything if it meant the person he loved most could stay with him. Rukia stood up and faced him with a haughty expression.

"Protect her for as long as you live," she told him the order from the higher ups. Ichigo blinked dumbly, wondering if he had heard right.

"And you think I'd have trouble with that…?" He asked baffled. "I'll protect her no matter what, regardless of what she is or isn't." Rukia smirked and cocked her head to the side.

"I didn't think you'd have a problem with that," she spoke quietly before eyeing the door. He noticed her look at the exit and raised an eyebrow.

"Got somewhere to be?" He asked, standing up as well. He shoved his hands into his pockets and smirked lightly himself. Rukia nodded and smiled.

"Something like that, although why do you ask? It's not like you're my mother."

"Why you-"

Although it was unexpected, Ichigo looked off to the side and his cheeks grew warm. "Thank you Rukia…" The smaller shinigami was shocked at his politeness. She didn't know whether to act the same to him or hit him out of embarrassment.

"Eh? What the heck are you spouting?" She questioned, her cheeks heating up a bit. Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and swallowed thickly. Rukia was his friend, but it was really weird to be so formal and thank her like this.

"If you hadn't, well… whipped me into going, Orihime would be in the Royal Realm right now…" He commented, his face growing awfully pink. A swift kick to the leg brought him out of his lowest moment, causing him to swear loudly. "W-What the hell was that for??"

"You would've gone with or without me!" Rukia yelled embarrassedly, turning the other way. "You love Inoue too much to let her go." Ichigo's face about exploded when she put it like that. Yeah, he knew about his feelings and he knew about Orihime's feelings, but to hear it come from someone else was just… weird, awkward, and different. He bit his tongue. _'Yes… very, very different.'_

"Ah… Am I disturbing something?" A quiet voice squeaked out from the hallway, a familiar red head poking into the living room. Ichigo's body suddenly felt a lot lighter upon seeing her up and around...

"Orihime… "He breathed, a smile unknowingly making its way onto his face.

"And that's my cue to leave," Rukia commented before quickly leaving the premises. Ichigo had been acting like a lovesick puppy and she definitely did no t want to be around him when he was like that. With her gone, it only left Ichigo and Orihime.

'_She looks so frail…'_ He thought, bringing his eyes over her form. Although he was a bit surprised to see she had changed from that previous silk gown, which he found to be… well, pretty damn attractive, to a simple, small pink nightgown, which was still pretty damn attractive as well. Although no matter what she was wearing, her sight alone managed to leave him breathless.

"W-What are you doing up?" Ichigo asked, choking a bit on his words. He was just so happy and was having a hard time containing his excitement. She shrugged, some of her hair tumbling over her shoulders during the movement.

"I heard a noise," she replied simply before yawning once more. "So I thought I'd investigate." Ichigo chuckled at her choice of words.

"You should rest some more," he commented, taking a shaky step towards her. Orihime shook her head and her cheeks flushed.

"N-No, I, um… I-I want to stay… here…" She stuttered, watching him take steps closer and closer to her trembling form. Running her tongue over her suddenly dry lips, she inwardly commented how he was walking like he was a predator and she was the prey.

"Any reason?" Ichigo asked before taking that final step towards her and encasing her small body in his arms. She nodded her head nervously while in taking his spicy scent. Her fingers trailed lightly over his muscular arms, doing her best not to shudder at his warm breath down her neck.

"Y-You…"

He smiled and hugged her tighter. "You're safe now…" The shinigami told her after a few moments of silence. "You're here for good." Orihime pulled back in surprise, eyes wide with shock.

"R-really?" She whispered, her bottom lip trembling. He nodded to her again, and brought a hand up to her cheek, the thumb stroking the skin. Through half-lidded eyes, he spoke thickly and quietly.

"I hope you get used to having me around… Because I'm never letting you out of my sight," he told her, watching her with slightly curious eyes. Orihime let a tired, but amused smile grace her already beautiful face, and she boldly stood on her toes to meet his lips with hers in a brief kiss.

"I wouldn't have it any other way…"

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End file.
